Persona: Prelude to Destruction
by SohmaAkira
Summary: A Persona 3 X 4 crossover. Angels and devils are fighting to take over the seal. So Minako Arisato has a choice, whether to train Yu Narukami in order to protect him or use him to get out from the seal.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own the persona franchise or its characters, but I would be pretty happy if I did._

_EDIT (1/2/12): Sorry but I had to reedit the entire story. This is because if I stick to the usual plot I feel that there will be many plot-holes that will be made unanswered. So, I decided to scrap Minato off the story. This story is now based after the ending on P3P (Minako's route). Sorry guys and I hope you forgive me...  
><em>

_This is my first fiction. I had thoughts about releasing stories months ago but didn't have the courage to post it. Since this is a new year, I've decided to change myself and release one. Please read and review! Sorry if my English is bad…_

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><p>In a white room filled with nothingness, a girl was sitting on the floor alone while talking to herself. The girl had auburn hair in a ponytail, along with barrettes which form the Roman numeral XXII. She also had red eyes and wore a school uniform with a red ribbon tie and a red neck-strap MP3 player.<p>

"I wonder, how many years has it been since I've been trapped in here?" the girl said to herself. "It's been a long time since I've been sealed in here and Theo hasn't been visiting me lately. I wish someone would come and see me, other than Erebus who is always trying to break the seal."

She then stood up and stared at the white walls with a look of despair. She had prevented The Fall and saved the lives of millions of people, at a price of casting away her freedom and life. She had wondered if it was the right thing to do, since The Fall was almost brought by the wishes of humanity to die. While she was thinking if there was any way out of the seal, she heard footsteps approaching in her direction.

"Is anyone there?" she shouted loudly.

Two figures than appeared in front of her. One was a woman with short, white hair and yellow eyes, wearing a blue dress which resembles a stewardess outfit while the other, a man had the same features as her, but his hair was swept back and he wore an outfit similar to a bellboy or even a steward.

"Hello, Master Minako." the man greeted her.

"Theo! You came!" the girl named Minako smiled and ran up to him. "Where have you been? I was lonely and bored the whole time!"

"Sorry but I was looking for my sister. Let me introduce you to her now."

He then turned his attention to his sister. "Elizabeth, this is my master, Minako."

"So, you're the one who caught the attention of my little brother. Intriguing..." she smiled. "Do you know? Normally residents from the Velvet Room are forbidden to have emotions for their master. When he came up to me, he begged me for months in order to find a way in order to unseal you. That was the first time he ever acted like that."

"So, do you know a way out?" Minako asked.

"Actually, there is. I happened to stumble upon it recently."

"Did you hear that, Theo? A way out! I can finally see my friends again!" Minako said with a big smile on her face.

Theo then smiled with her. To him, his master can finally live a normal life without any burden.

"So, about getting us out…"

"Do you know about the four Seraphim archangels and the Four Crown Princes of Hell?" Elizabeth said.

"Oh, I know! Mr. Edogawa taught us about this. The four archangels are Gabriel, Michael, Uriel and Raphael while the Four Crown Princes of Hell are Belial, Lucifer, Satan and Leviathan." Minako answered with a smile on her face.

"Very good, Master Minako. As expected, you're very smart." Theo praised her.

"During the past year after you were sealed, the angels and devils were fighting for the seal. The devils wanted The Fall to occur so they can rule the Earth." Elizabeth continued.

"Wow, that's awfully nice for the angels to help us." Minako said.

"Actually, the angels have their own agendas. Since mankind wished for death, the angels decided to grant the humans' wish and use The Fall to kill them. The war raged on for months without you knowing."

"So what happened then?"

"While they were fighting, our master, Master Philemon appeared."

"Who is Master Philemon?"

"He is the observer of events. He has helped many persona users reach their answer to life. He appeared while the angels and devils were fighting and said that even though either side won the war, they couldn't undo the seal because the power of the Wild Card was necessary. So both sides decided to have a truce. Until a Wild Card user has appeared, they would cease all fighting between them. Another seal was created to repel either side's power to prevent betrayal between them. But…"

"Get straight to the point. How do we get out?" Minako interrupted, her patience wearing thin.

"To undo the seal, we need the power of the Wild Card. However, we also need the power of the angels and the devils to break the seal they created. Since they will stop at nothing to get the power, we need you to find the next Wild Card user and make him stronger so that he'd stand a chance against them. Then we'll use him to get you out." Elizabeth finished.

"The problem is, how do we get out?"Minako asked again.

"I can help you with that." a voice said.

A black haired man with a yellow scarf then approached her with a solemn look on his face. When his face was shown to Minako,she had a surprised look on her face.

"Hi, Minako."

"Ryoji-kun?" Minako gasped. Ever since New Year's Eve she hadn't seen Ryoji in this form as he was lastly known as the Appraiser of Nyx.

"What is he doing here?" she said, still surprised by the fact that he is alive. "Didn't you get defeated by me and the others?"

"It seems you have forgotten, Minako. I am Death itself. I will not die even if you guys had beaten me." Ryoji reminded her. "Don't worry; I'm here to help you."

"Why would you help me?"

"You helped me out. I thought I was trapped for good and felt lonely. But then you came and showed me that even a monster like me can make friends. That was the happiest year of my life. Thanks, Minako."

"Gee…" she blushed. After that she regained her composure. "So, how do we get out?"

"To protect the next Wild Card user, you have to get out. But by doing so now will break the seal and cause The Fall to happen. So, Theodore will have to take over your place while you find the next user with me. I will use my power to strengthen the seal. However, the price is very high…"

"What do you mean?"

"To strengthen the seal, you must relinquish your power of the Wild Card. You are stuck with your default persona and will have to strengthen them from the beginning. Not only that, but the longer I use that power there is a chance that I may lose my consciousness and attack you without hesitation. So, will you do it?"

"I will!" Minako said without any hesitation.

"I was afraid you'd say that. Did you forget that I may try kill you like last time, at the top of Tartarus?" Ryoji frowned.

"Don't worry, I believe in you, Ryoji." Minako replied.

"Then it's settled. I look forward to being with you again, Minako." his frown turned into a smile. "Why don't you prepare with Elizabeth and Theodore? I'll go and strengthen the seal."

"Ok!" she nodded.

After that, Ryoji disappeared for a moment. Minako then proceeded to prepare.

"Here you go. Some pocket money to start your journey with." Elizabeth said while taking out her purse. She then opened it and an endless amount of 500 yen coins flowed out. Minako silently watched in awe as the coins began to pile up higher and higher.

"Um, Elizabeth? It's great that you are giving me a huge amount of money but could you please give them in the form of bank notes? They're much too heavy for me to carry along." Minako couldn't help but say it as the coins had piled up as high as a single storey building.

"Fine. Theodore, would you mind?"

"Very well, sister." Theo then approached Minako and took out a lot of bank notes at her request.

"Here you are, Master Minako. This should cover up all your expenses for a few months." he handed 100,000 yen to her.

"Thanks, both of you!" Minako smiled and held both of their hands to express her gratitude. Theodore blushed when his hands touched hers but she did not notice it.

A few seconds later, Ryoji arrived.

"Hey guys, I think you should give her more money. If it's only this much, Minako would spend all of it in a month!" Ryoji laughed.

"Nonsense, I believe that Master Minako is a responsible lady." Theo replied with an angry look on his face.

"That's because you haven't seen her eat…" Ryoji muttered softly.

"By the way, how do we find the next Wild Card user?" Minako interjected before a fight started between them.

"The next Wild Card user can be found with this." Elizabeth said while taking out a blue butterfly. "This butterfly can detect them, even though their powers haven't awakened yet."

"Well then let's go. Say goodbye to them Minako. We won't be seeing them for a while." Ryoji said.

"Bye, guys!" Minako smiled while waving goodbye to them. Theo and Elizabeth also waved goodbye to them.

Ryoji and Minako were then engulfed in a bright white light. The next second, they disappeared from the white room.

"Well then, it's time for me to leave." Elizabeth said. "Goodbye, little brother."

"Wait, why didn't you tell her about the consequences, sister?" Theo asked.

"I thought you might tell her about it." she replied. "Let's hope she makes a decision. To protect the Wild Card user or use him or her for her selfish desires..."

Meanwhile…

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><p>A gray-haired young man was sitting in a blue couch. He found himself in a limousine filled with blue furniture. He tried to look outside the window but only saw thick fog.<p>

"Where am I? What is this place?" he thought to himself.

When he looked forward, he saw an old man and a woman. The old man was sitting with closed eyes and hands. He had a long nose and wore a black suit with white gloves. The woman who was sitting next to him had light blond hair and golden eyes. She was dressed in dark blue and had a purple book on her lap. The old man then opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room…"

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><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>: _Once again, sorry if my English is bad. This story will be updated once a month (or more if I am free). Please review my story if you can. Constructive reviews are fine, as I'm still new at this and want to be better at writing this. This is a slow story, so please stick with me till the end. By the way, the other P3 cast won't be in this story for sometime (unless mentioned).  
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_Update (20/6) : Edited some mistakes._


	2. Chapter 2: Freedom

_As usual I do not own the Persona franchise or its characters._

_I'm sorry guys, due to homework and tests I've been so busy that I haven't any time on writing or thinking about the story. I'll try to rush the next chapter if possible so please look forward to it._

_By the way I would like to thanks the reviewers for their reviews. They really helped and supported me. Thank you!_

_TheImperfectDarkOne: Thanks for the review. The pairings are still not decided yet, though… (Thoughts are still rushing through my brain…)_

_Scoutmasterkb28: Sorry if my grammar was bad. I'll try to improve as fast as possible._

_Update (20/6) : Changed some grammar mistakes._

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><p><strong>April 11th<strong>

**Top of Tartarus**

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><p>"Yes, I'm finally free!" Minako yelled as she stretched her arms.<p>

"Please be quiet, Minako. You'll attract the shadows." Ryoji warned her.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." she apologized and smiled to him. "By the way, this scenery…"

She then looked around her surroundings. The moon and the sky were shining with a sickly green colour. Not only is that, in front of them is a large door with a statue of a man resembling Theodore. The arms and legs of the statue were chained to the door.

"If my memory is correct, this is Tartarus. But I thought that Tartarus and the Dark Hour were erased from existence…"

"Actually, it returned to its original place." Ryoji suddenly interrupted her. "When the Dark Hour disappeared in your world, it was teleported to this realm. In this realm, the Dark Hour is eternal, so anything you experienced during the Dark Hour in your world is the same in here."

"I have a question. What do you mean about 'this realm'?"

"There are many realms in the universe. Your world is one of them. Some realms are ruled by a god or goddess. For example, this realm is ruled by Nyx."

"Oh, so that's how it is…"

Minako then continued admiring the scenery. Suddenly, a noise was heard from the stairway.

"What was that?" Minako was surprised by the noise.

"Shadows! It looks like they heard your outburst and are coming towards us!" Ryoji panicked.

A shadow then appeared from the stairway. It then slowly changed from its dark and goo-like appearance to a figure resembling a Minotaur with shackles on its hand. Its face was covered with a mask.

"This is bad! Let's get out of here, fast!" Ryoji was preparing to run away, but Minako just stood there unfazed.

"This is nothing, I can beat it with just an attack with my persona." She then pulled out a gun-like item from her pocket.

"No, wait Minako…"

It was too late. She pressed it onto her head and took a deep breath.

"Persona!"

A bang was heard and a mechanical figure appeared behind her. The mechanical figure had long, brown hair, a golden torso with a speaker attached, and a heart-shaped lyre on its back.

"Orpheus?! I thought I summoned Messiah…" she sighed. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. Attack!"

Orpheus soon heeded her call and struck the shadow with its lyre. However, the shadow was unfazed by the attack and retaliated by throwing a punch. Minako then quickly stepped back, dodging the attack.

"What the! Why didn't that attack make a single scratch on it?" she was puzzled by it.

"Hurry Minako, follow me!" Ryoji then grabbed her arm while she was still dazed and ran past the shadow down the stairs. After that they came across an access point and used it. A bright light then surrounded them, taking them back to the entrance.

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><p><strong>April 11th<strong>

**Entrance of Tartarus**

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><p>"Phew… I thought I was going to die back there." Minako panted for a while before regaining her composure. "Why did I suddenly become so weak?" she asked.<p>

"Did you forget the consequences I told you?" Ryoji said. "Your power of the Wild Card was used in order to strengthen the seal. That means you're stuck with Orpheus forever. So you have to strengthen it again."

"No way! This sucks…" Minako sighed. "By the way, why do I have a body? I thought Mitsuru was taking care of it."

"Actually, I stole your body from the graveyard…" Ryoji laughed, but it sounded off.

"Oh, the graveyard... Wait a minute, the graveyard! What was my body doing there!"She yelled, shocked by the facts.

"Well, how should I say this?" he scratched his head for a while before explaining.

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><p><strong><span>Ryoji's Flashback<span>**

**March 14th 2011**

**XXX Hospital**

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><p>Tomorrow will be the 1st anniversary when Minako passed out in Gekkoukan High and became the Great Seal. Since that day she fell into a coma and didn't wake up. Mitsuru called every doctor she could find to try and cure her, but they all said the same thing.<p>

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing that I can do."

The members visited her every day and hoped that she recovers but to no avail. While she was asleep, I had been by her side, watching her and protecting her from harm. Every time someone entered the room, I would quickly disappear so that no one would notice me.

A day before the anniversary, every SEES member gathered at her room. Besides Minako, there were also others who had fought with her. They all went to the same school, except for Ken and Koromaru. I quickly hid myself to avoid another confrontation between them. Who knows what will happen if I bumped into them. While hiding, I eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Everyone, I called you here for a reason." Mitsuru said.

"We know." Akihiko turned towards her. "Tomorrow's the day, right?"

"Correct. And since she's been asleep for a year, I think it's time for us to let her rest peacefully."

Everyone had a sad look on their faces. They were reluctant to bury her, especially Akihiko.

"Can't we just wait for another year? I'm sure that something's bound to happen to her." Ken pleaded her.

"We can't. As much as I would like to wait, it's for our own good too." Yukari replied.

"I can't believe that it's been a year…" Junpei muttered. Koromaru whimpered after hearing Mitsuru say those words.

"What about you, Shinjiro-senpai?" Ken turned to him; however the beanie-wearing man ignored him.

"Nobody has any objections? Then let's meet at the cemetery tomorrow, dismissed." Mitsuru then left the room, followed by the others one by one. However, Aigis suddenly stopped at the doorway and went into her battle stance.

"What's wrong, Aigis?" Fuuka asked her.

"I sense a shadow near us." Aigis warned.

"Yipes, this is bad… If she finds out I'm here, I'll become mincemeat in a minute!" I thought, panicking.

"Are you sure? There couldn't be a shadow here, not even now." Fuuka shrugged off.

Aigis then calmed down and continued walking. After all of them were gone, I went out of hiding.

"Phew… At least I'm safe." I sighed. "So they're going to bury her tomorrow…I'll just take her body then. Besides, it's for an emergency."

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><p><strong>March 15th 2011<strong>

**Cemetery**

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><p>I arrived earlier before the SEES members. I quickly sat on a branch of a tree to hide myself so that they wouldn't see me.<p>

"Ah, today's a good day…" I said while lying down.

After a few hours, they arrived with a coffin carried by priests in front of them. The priests continued walking until they reached the tombstone. After that, they dug a hole and placed the body inside.

"Let us pray for this girl's safe journey to the afterlife." One of the priests said.

They began to pray for awhile before finally burying her. After the burial was over, the members stayed for awhile, but as time passed every one of them left, with Akihiko being last, leaving after 4 hours of staying. When they were finally gone, I quickly approached the grave and started digging her coffin out.

"That was a very long time. I didn't expect Akihiko-senpai to stay for that long…"I yawned while digging up the ground.

After several minutes of digging, while watching carefully to see if nobody returned here, I finally dug out her coffin. I took the body out of the coffin and reburied the empty coffin so that no one else would suspect that her body would be missing from the outside. After finishing the job, I quickly grabbed the body and took off. I then continued preserving her body until the day had come.

(Flashback end.)

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><p>"So in their eyes, I'm dead?" Minako said.<p>

"I'm afraid so."

Minako then went silent for a while. She was trying to hold back her tears, since her friends are trying to move on with their lives. But eventually some of the tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Are you all right?" Ryoji approached her, handing her his scarf.

"Yeah, I'm all right…" She then used the scarf to wipe away the tears and mucus from her face before returning it to him."Thank you."

"You're welcome…" Ryoji looked disgusted at the sight of his dirty scarf. But since Minako was in front of her, he wore it back on without hesitation.

"So, what should we do now?" he asked her.

"Well then, since this is the Dark Hour and time is stopped, let's go train!" her expression quickly changed into a happy smile.

"Wow, she changed her expression in a blink of an eye." Ryoji thought to himself.

"Come on, let's go!" she pulled Ryoji's arm and quickly ran for the next floor.

Minako trained for several hours inside Tartarus after that. Even though she lost her power, she still had her moves. And after a few battles she quickly regained some of her old physique and abilities, able to dodge and hit enemies with ease.

"Although it's been a year since she fought, she still fights like a monster; Even her face was showing a sinister smile…"Ryoji shivered when he saw the smile.

After several hours of leveling up, Minako finally showed signs of slowing down. She had gone up 50 floors in a row without stopping. She didn't even let a single shadow escape, killing everything in her sight.

"I'm hungry…" she cried out.

"Well then, let's go back to the real world. But first, do you still have the butterfly Elizabeth gave you?"

"Yeah." She quickly took out the butterfly from her pocket. Ryoji then opened a portal and let the butterfly flew inside.

"Let's chase it quickly." He then held her hand and quickly entered the portal.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Notes<strong>: Sorry for the wait! Arghh… Writing a chapter is hard. The homework and tests don't seem to be letting down either. I'm sorry for posting this after a few months since I promised you readers 1 chapter per month. I'll quickly write the chapters as soon as I can. (If holidays come, at least…)_

_As I said before in the previous chapter, please read and review. Any review is fine. Love it or hate it, please write it down! The review can help me in some way… (Inspiration, dedication etc)_

_Update (20/6) : Sorry, because of some problems, like exams and stuff, I didn't have the time to write the story. And writing a chapter is ridiculously hard. I am still struggling on the beginning of the chapter. If you want to know the status of the story for now..._

_Ideas : 100% (Enough for maybe 3 or 4 chapters)_

_Writing : 0% (Having a hard time writing the beginning)_

_I'll try to update as soon as I can, so please stay tuned!_


	3. Chapter 3: New Town

**Author's Notes:** _This is the "raw" edition, so you'll be seeing lot of grammar mistakes, story mistakes, and some very short and simple conversations. But as usual, please read and review!_

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><p><strong>April 11th<strong>

**Inaba, Shopping District**

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><p>"So, this is where the butterfly leads." Ryoji said.<p>

As Minako and Ryoji emerged from the black portal, they found themselves in a rural town. It was unlike Iwatodai. The buildings were small and old compared to the big, tall and modern buildings there. The air here was also cooler and more refreshing. Although it was a new place for Ryoji, but for Minako it was an old memory.

"Hmm, isn't this Inaba?" Minako asked.

"Minako, you know this place?"

"Yeah, the other Tennis Club members and I went here for a fellowship. This town isn't big and modern compared to Iwatodai, though… "She sighed.

"Is it boring?"

When Ryoji asked that question, her eyes lit up.

"Not at all! The inn is good, the food is delicious and…"

Before she can continue, Minako's stomach growled loudly. This was because she hadn't eaten anything since getting out of the seal. Since only her spirit was sealed, she didn't need to care about the basic necessities.

"All this thinking of food has made me hungry. Can we eat first?" She held her stomach and blushed.

"We came here to find the Wild Card user, not to enjoy ourselves."

"I know, I know. Just a quick bite, please…"

Ryoji was going to say no, but looking at Minako's pleading eyes made him hesitant.

"Uh…"

He quickly looked around his surroundings to look for a way to stall her, but suddenly the butterfly flew further away from them without them noticing. Fortunately, he saw it before it flew even further.

"Look, the butterfly's moving!"

Ryoji immediately gave chase to the butterfly before it cannot be seen again. Minako also regained her composure and followed it. After a few minutes, the butterfly stopped. When they looked around, they found themselves in a gas station.

"The butterfly stops here." Ryoji looked high and low to see if the Wild Card user was there while Minako simply walked away to find something to eat.

Afterwards, a white van arrived. A gas station attendant who was resting nearby quickly came over to greet the van.

"Welcome to Moel!" the gas station attendant greeted cheerfully.

Afterwards, two persons got out from the van. One was a middle-aged man who had blackish-grey hair and wore a dark grey with pulled up sleeves, a loose, light red necktie and brown belt with a metal buckle as well as a pair of dress pants along with dark brown shoe. His left hand was carrying a black jacket too. Another one was a little girl with brown hair, short pigtails and brown eyes. She was wearing a white turtleneck dress in pink and two shades of red, white socks and pink shoes. The girl looked around in distraught, as if she was looking for the toilet. The attendant noticed this and said,

"The toilet's in the back, to your left. You know which way's left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in."

"I know…Jeez…" the girl made an annoyed face and headed for the toilet. Soon afterwards, a teenager with grey hair and wearing a school uniform came out of the van. The blue butterfly flew towards him and flew above his head in circles.

"Hmm? Is that the Wild Card User?" Ryoji thought to himself.

"Are you guys taking a trip?" The attendant asked the middle-aged man.

"No, we just went to pick him up. He just moved here from the big city." The man replied.

"The city, huh…?"

"Fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine."

"Right away, sir!"

"Good time as any for a smoke." The man then left the teenager and went to a nearby place to smoke.

Afterwards, the attendant struck a conversation with the teenager.

"Are you in high school?" The attendant asked.

The teenager made a surprised look.

"Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here? There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're looking for part-time help right now."

Ryoji, who was watching them the whole time, thought that the attendant looked suspicious.

"Who is that attendant? She looks so familiar…"

He focused his eyes on the attendant and felt shocked.

"That grey hair and red eyes. It can't be, Izanami…?"

"Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student."

The attendant, known by Ryoji as Izanami, extended her hand to the teenager. Ryoji was about to stop them. However, it was too late as the teenager shook her hand. While he was running up to them, he abruptly stopped. The little girl was back. Izanami looked at Ryoji and smiled before saying,

"Oh, I should get back to work."

Afterwards, Izanami continued her work. Ryoji was going to talk to her but he can't make a ruckus, not in front of them. He continued to stay watch until the family left. Suddenly, the teenager held his head, as if he had a headache.

"…Are you okay?" The little girl asked him. "Did you get carsick? You don't look too good…"

The teenager waved his hand to say that he was fine. After a while, the family left the gas station. The butterfly followed the car and was never seen from him after that.

"Okay, they left. We should ask that attendant, Mina-"

Ryoji looked around him and just found out that Minako had left his side for a few minutes.

"W-What the? Where did she go?"

He searched the entire gas station, looking for her but she wasn't found. Ryoji sighed and said,

"Oh well, time for me to ask that attendant…"

He also tried to search for Izanami but it was futile. She had already left the gas station. It was like she was here only for the arrival of that teenager.

"Ugh, it looks like I lost both Izanami and Minako…" Ryoji grumbled.

"Hey, Ryoji!"

Minako, who was separated with Ryoji, walked up to him. Following her was a teenage girl shorter than Minako. The girl had pale skin, brown eyes and navy blue hair. Part of her hair is braided and adorned with a hair-clip with a Chinese design. She was wearing a white shirt with a matching white skirt and a headscarf with the same color. On top of her white shirt and skirt was a deep-red colored apron.

"Minako, who is this?" He pointed his finger towards the blue-haired girl.

"I'm a waitress from Aiya's. I've come to collect the money for the meal that this customer ate." The girl said, her face devoid of emotions.

"You went to eat? And just when the Wild Card user was found…" He sighed.

"Really? Is it a boy or a girl?" Minako asked, feeling happy that she found the answer to her freedom.

"Wait a second, let me pay your bills first." Ryoji then took out his wallet and asked the waitress. "How much does this girl owe?"

"Let me see… 30 bowls of nikudons and 10 glasses of green tea. So that would be 40,000 yen."

"W-what? She ate that much?" Ryoji was shocked. Even his face couldn't hide his surprise. It was the first time that Minako ate this much, and the grand total was almost as half as the pocket money Theodore gave.

"Sigh… I guess we have no choice…" He pulled out 40,000 yen and gave it to the waitress.

"Thank you. Please come again." After that, the waitress went back to the restaurant.

"I told him that the money was not enough…" Ryoji muttered softly.

"Did you say anything?" Minako asked.

"N-Nothing! About the Wild Card user, he's a teenage boy with grey hair."

"Maybe this is going to be easy. Besides, there isn't a lot of young people who have grey hair nowadays."

"Also, I saw a god at the gas station…"

"Really? Is it the same as Nyx?"

"Maybe. Judging by her appearance, I think it was Izanami."

"Izanami, the goddess of the land of the dead? Why would she be here?"

"I don't know, most gods don't interfere with each others plans. However, Izanami is mostly cold to everyone. She isn't particularly close with any of the gods…"

"Maybe it will be the same as the Dark Hour?"

"Like I said, I don't know. By the way, can you cut down on the food next time? If you go on a rampage like that again, I don't think we'll find a place to stay."

"Fine." She frowned. "So then, what do we do now?"

"Well, we'll need to find a place to stay while we're here, but I don't know where to look first…"

Suddenly, Minako saw someone passing by. It was another teenage girl. She had long, straight black hair, a red headband and grey eyes. However, unlike most of the townspeople, she was wearing a pink kimono with colorful designs on it. She was carrying a shopping bag full of fruits and vegetables.

"Is it just me, or are we seeing a lot of beautiful teenage girls lately?" Ryoji said while focusing his attention towards the kimono-wearing girl.

"Hmm, isn't that…?"

Minako immediately walked up to her while saying,

"Excuse me; Are you the manager's daughter at the Amagi Inn?"

The girl heard Minako's question and turned around.

"Why, yes. Do you have any business with me?" she said politely.

"Do you remember when you came to greet a few students from Gekkoukan High two years ago?"

"A little, but I can't remember it clearly since I've greeted a lot of students before. However, you do look familiar…"

"I have a question. Can you let us stay at your hotel?"

"Ehh?" the girl was surprised.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong> _Sorry if the chapter was too short. Sometimes I don't have any time to write. But I'm trying my best just to improve a little. By the way, if you think that some of the conversations are familiar, it's because some of them were adapted from the game. I did that because I want the story to be as canonical as possible. So, if you have anything to say (about some of the mistakes that I have made, if possible), please review. And don't hesitate when posting negative comments; I want to make the story as interesting as possible._


	4. Chapter 4: Accomodations

_**Author Notes**__: This is the beta version. So, more mistakes on this chapter. But anyways, please enjoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>April 11th<strong>

**Amagi Inn**

* * *

><p>"We're almost there." The kimono-wearing girl said.<p>

"Finally… I'm starving…" Minako said while holding her stomach.

"You've just ate 30 bowls of nikudons and you're telling me you're hungry again?" Ryoji asked.

"I was holding it back just now!" Minako retorted.

"I wonder what happened to her while she was in the seal. The pocket money isn't going to last any longer…" Ryoji thought while showing a face of despair.

A while ago, Minako and Ryoji met with the heiress of the Amagi Inn at the shopping district. Since they didn't have anywhere else to stay, they decided to stay at the inn for a while. After boarding the bus for a few minutes, they almost arrived at their destination.

"By the way, I haven't caught up to your name yet, miss." Ryoji turned his attention towards the girl.

"My name is Yukiko Amagi, nice to meet you two." The girl introduced herself politely.

"The name's Ryoji Mochizuki, and this girl beside me is…" Ryoji then pointed his finger towards Minako, letting her introduce herself.

"Minako Arisato… Nice to meet you too…" Minako said in a dull tone.

"It would be better if you were more energetic…" He said while holding his head in his hands, disappointed.

After that, nobody said a thing. The air around them was tense and there was no one who would liven up the mood. Even Minako who was a cheerful girl in the past did nothing since she was still hungry and exhausted. They continued walking for a few minutes before arriving at the inn.

"We're here. This is the Amagi-"

Yukiko's words were interrupted by sudden camera flashes and a mob of reporters charging towards them.

"Miss Amagi, could we have a word with you?" A reporter said while running towards the trio.

"Excuse me, Miss Amagi! Is it true that Mayumi Yamano is staying at your inn?" Another reporter said whilst holding a microphone.

"Not again…" Yukiko sighed heavily.

"Hurry, this way!" A nearby hostess at the inn said while holding the door open.

The trio quickly ran from the reporters and entered into the inn. When they stepped inside the inn, they saw that the interior of the inn was simple and traditional, as if they entered a house from the past. There were two vases full of different flowers at the entrance, and the floors here are wooden. It was different than the dorm they stayed in, which was modern and classy.

"Thank goodness you're all right…" the hostess that helped them said.

"When did they come here, Kasai-san?" Yukiko asked.

"After you left the inn. We managed to make them leave but it looks like they camped outside and pestered a lot of guests just to ask them if Yamano-san is staying here. Even the mistress couldn't handle this mess and went to rest for a while. Now, we're short-handed and our part-timer is still not here yet."

"Excuse me, I heard you say that this inn is hiring part-timers, right?" Ryoji suddenly interrupted them.

"Yes, and who might you be?" the hostess named Kasai asked.

"We're just two guests trying to stay at the inn. But if you'd like, we can help you. Don't worry; we have experience in handling this kind of situations." Ryoji said.

"Oh thank you, this is greatly appreciated!" Kasai said and smiled amidst the chaos that was happening in the inn. After that she left them in order to prepare their uniforms.

"Then maybe we could get a discount during our stay at the inn…" Ryoji then thought and smiled to himself.

"Ehh, I'm too hungry to work…" Minako grimaced.

"Looks like I'll have to get her to be more cheerful."

He then turned his attention towards Minako and said,

"Minako, if you do the part-time job, I'll let you eat all you want today."

"Really?!" Minako immediately turned back to her cheery disposition again. "You better not break that promise, Ryoji!"

"Goodbye, pocket money…" Ryoji sighed.

During this time, Kasai came back with two uniforms on her hands. One of them was a pink yukata, just like Yukiko's but without any designs on it. The other was a blue yukata which was the same as the pink one.

"Here, you two will be in charge of greeting the customers. If there is anything wrong, please ask Yukiko-sama about it."

"Yes, ma'am!" Minako took the pink yukata and made a salute as if she was going to war. Ryoji couldn't help but smirked.

"Ok, let's do our best." Ryoji then took the blue yukata from Kasai.

"Well then, we'll be leaving you two now." Kasai then left with Yukiko and got back to their jobs.

After that, Ryoji and Minako changed into their work uniforms. Both of them exchanged glances at each other after walking out of their respective changing rooms.

"Wow, Minako looks beautiful in that yukata." Ryoji thought when he looked at Minako. "I wonder if she is thinking the same about me…"

"Ok, let's work hard for the food!" Minako shouted and raised her hand.

"Not a chance… And I was trying to make myself more attractive…" Ryoji sighed inwardly.

After a while, they started their part-time job. When each customer arrived, Minako greeted them energetically and with a smile that would leave men speechless. It was different than the normal greetings at the inn, which were more refined and polite.

"Welcome to the Amagi Inn!"

A few men who were greeted by her secretly blushed because of her appearance, while some said,

"Who is that cute girl?"

"This is different than the last time I came here. It makes me more energized than usual."

Ryoji, who heard their conversations, frowned. He wanted to be the only one to see her dressed in that outfit. But, he had to stay professional. If he made a mistake, they would get scolded by Kasai.

On the other hand, when the female customers entered the inn, Ryoji would greet them like a host from a nightclub, with a charming smile and a bow as he said,

"Hello, miss. Welcome to the Amagi Inn."

A few women who were greeted by him would stay and chat with him or squeal at the sight of him. It was normal for him since he was first treated like that when he entered Gekkoukan High School. However, some of the females who did that were either glared furiously by Minako or have their conversations interrupted by her.

A few hours later, they were called to serve food to the customers. For Minako, it was second nature for her to serve food, since she always did that at the dorm. But, she would always have a tendency to drool at the sight of the food, or worse, secretly tasting the food. The customers who have their food served didn't notice, though. They would even share some of their food and didn't complain about it. As for Ryoji…

"Sorry, but could you help me with this, please?"

He would push all of his work to the other waitresses, because he never even served food before. The other waitresses who were asked didn't complain or scold him. Not only that, they were even happy when he asked them.

"Thank you, miss. And please don't tell anyone okay? It's our little secret~" He said huskily to a waitress, winking.

Both of them had their secrets exposed by each other after a while, though. Ryoji didn't mind. If that will satiate a bit of her hunger and save up some money, her actions were for the best. Minako, however, reprimanded Ryoji and told him to do it by himself. He ignored her preaching and continued on.

Soon after, Kasai walked up to them, saying,

"You two can stop now. Our part-timer has come. Thank you for the help." Kasai smiled.

"It was nothing." Ryoji waved his hands.

"Can we eat now?" Minako asked Ryoji with pleading eyes.

"Guess I don't have a choice. Okay, let's eat."

"Yay!" Minako raised her hands in delight.

"Since you helped us today, the meal is on us. Please enjoy." Kasai said.

"Really? Yes!" Ryoji jumped into the air and pumped his fists. He was happy too, because he would not waste any money on the meal.

Both of them were led into a room to wait for the food to arrive. After a few minutes…

"The food is ready. Please come with me."

"Wait the minute, aren't you…" Ryoji pointed at the waitress that came to inform them.

"Ah! The waitress from that restaurant!"

It was the waitress that collected the money from Minako's meal.

"We meet again. My name is Aika Nakamura. I'm also working part-time here." She said.

"So you're the part-timer they mentioned?" Minako asked.

When Aika heard Minako's question, she replied with a nod.

"Okay, let's not waste any time! Time to eat!"

Minako immediately rushed down to the dining hall, with Ryoji and Aika following her. When they arrived, they saw many people sitting down while eating their meal. The tables were shared so everyone was sitting with complete strangers. However, some people didn't mind and even struck up conversations with others.

Minako and Ryoji were led to their seats. They were sitting side by side, as if they were a couple on a vacation. When they sat down, plates of sushi and sashimi were served on their tables. Judging from their appearances, they were very expensive.

"Thank goodness it's free…" Ryoji breathed a sigh of relief while admiring the delicacies in front of him.

"This takes me back to the days when the team was treated to sushi by Mitsuru…" Minako smiled as she reminisced. However, she frowned as soon as she thought about the past. She wondered if she would meet her old friends again.

"We can't meet them, you know. Not for a while, at least. As soon as we find that man, you may have a chance to see them. So don't be sad." Ryoji comforted her.

"Maybe you're right. Let's dig in!" Minako cheered up and went for the salmon.

As she put the salmon into her mouth and chewed it, her eyes widened as she said,

"Wow, this is delicious!"

"Really?" Ryoji then picked up a sea urchin and popped it into his mouth. When he bit into the tender flesh, he shuddered, tears forming in his eyes, thinking that this is the best food he has ever had.

While they were enjoying their meal, they decided to discuss about the whereabouts of the Wild Card user.

"Do you think that maybe he'll go to high school? Judging by what you described to me, I think he's still studying." Minako said as she picked up another salmon.

"Maybe you're right. Let's ask someone about it."

Ryoji then saw Yukiko passing by. Since she's in high school, he decided to ask her.

"Excuse me, Yukiko-san?"Ryoji said as he walked up to her.

"Yes?" She replied as soon as she heard his voice.

"Where do you study?"

"Yasogami High. It's the closest school from here. Why?" She asked, puzzled at his question.

"Oh, I see. I was just curious, that's all. Thanks!" Ryoji replied, smiling and walking back to Minako while being lost in thought.

"Then let's go there tomorrow." She said while taking the last salmon.

"Sure. Well then, I'll take-"

When Ryoji looked at the table, there was nothing left. While he was talking with Yukiko, Minako quickly swiped all of the food before he came back.

"This is going to be troublesome…" He sighed deeply, looking at the empty table.

"Okay, let's book a room!" Minako said as she stood up.

"Okay…"

They went to the counter and booked themselves a room. When Ryoji was about to pay for the accommodations, Minako stopped him and reached for her pocket while saying,

"I'll pay for this." She pulled out 5,000 yen and gave it to the receptionist.

"Enjoy your stay." The receptionist said before bowing.

"Where did you get that money?" Ryoji asked, surprised that they had more money.

"This, I picked it up from the Shadows that I defeated. Didn't you know?"

"No, not a clue…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>__ Persona 4 Golden has been released! Finally, more events, more battles, more stories… The only downside to this is that I don't own a PS Vita (Damn you, mediocre allowance!). Have you guys seen the ending yet? Not to spoil anything, but, heads will roll if you watched the ending._

_**UPDATE (10/8)** : Fixed some mistakes. By the way, I have something to ask from the readers. After this chapter, Minako will be going to Yasogami High. The only problem is, I am stuck on whether to put Minako as a student or as an intern (seeing as each path has many things to write...). The same applies to Ryoji too. So, I'm asking if you readers can suggest what path should I take for the story. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!  
><em>


	5. Chapter 5: Discovery

**April 11****th**

**Amagi Inn**

**Ryoji and Minako's Room**

* * *

><p>"Ok, time for a meeting." Ryoji said while pouring the tea.<p>

"Eh? Can't we rest for a few days? I'm still tired…" Minako laid down on the futon and covered her face with a pillow.

"I'm starting to think that your time in the seal has changed you." he frowned.

"Nonsense, I'm still the same as always." She then stood up and sat down on a chair. "So, what're we talking about?"

Ryoji then sat on the opposite chair and said, "We need to find out a way to get close with the Wild Card user. If we can establish a relationship with him, maybe we can convince him to help you…"

"And give up his life, spending eternity in the seal? There is no way he'll accept it." she interjected his proposal before sipping her tea.

"We'll just have to try it then. There isn't any other way to do it. Besides, we also need to train him. If we just grab him on the spot, he couldn't last a fight against Erebus."

"You're right about that…"Minako refilled her teacup again before drinking it. "Now, how can we get close with him?"

"Easy. We just transfer to Yasogami High and study there while getting close to him."

"Yeah, but how do we get in?" Minako stood up and walked back and forth, thinking of a way. Suddenly, she stopped and asked, "By the way, how did you get into our school, Ryoji?"

"Oh, that? Well, your 'club advisor' had a part in this. He handed me a paper after I appeared. It was a transfer paper to the school. Everything was neatly done. There was the principal's signature and the school's seal. All I had to do was write my name…" Ryoji suddenly stood up, surprising Minako. "That's it! Maybe there are a few papers at the school. I'll be right back!" He quickly made a portal and disappeared, leaving Minako in the room.

"There he goes… I'll take a bath before he returns." she then left the room and went to the lobby. However the atmosphere was different when she arrived, unlike when they were here in the afternoon. There were policemen standing guard at the lobby. A few guests were afraid to stay at the lobby and quickly went to someplace else.

"What happened here?" she walked to the counter, unfazed by the presence of the police. As she walked to the counter, she saw two men talking to Kasai. One was the middle-aged man that Ryoji saw at the gas station, but Minako didn't know about him since she left before having the chance to see him. The other guy was younger than him. He had black hair and grey eyes. He also wore a black suit with a long sleeved shirt inside, a crooked red tie and brown field shoes. Minako looked at them and thought that they look like Sherlock Holmes and Watson, the detective and partner duo. She walked closer and heard their conversation.

"Is she back yet?" the middle-aged man asked Kasai.

"Not yet." she replied. "Her luggage is still here, even though she had been missing for a day…"

"Is that so? Well then, we'll take our leave then. We'll call if we find her." the middle- aged man then left. His partner was about to leave too, before he saw that Minako had heard their conversation. He approached her and said,

"Sorry, but can you just forget everything that you heard just now? We don't want anyone to know about this." he smiled and scratched his head.

"Adachi! We're leaving!" the middle-aged man's loud yell could be heard across the lobby.

"C-coming, Dojima-san!" Adachi quickly followed him.

Soon, the police left the inn. Minako, curious about the conversation, decided to ask Kasai.

"Kasai-san, what were you and those two talking about?"

"You heard that? It will be bad if someone else hears about this…" Kasai sighed. "Okay, but please don't tell anyone about this. Actually, Yamano-san is missing. The police are helping us to look for her."

"Missing? What do you mean?" Minako was puzzled.

"We don't know. Nobody saw her leave the inn. But, we can't find her here either. If the press finds out about this, the mistress is going to faint…"

"Okay, I won't tell. By the way, what turn is it for the hot springs?"

"It's the girls' turn at this hour."

"Okay, thanks!" Minako then walked to the hot springs. When she entered, she saw that the hot spring was empty. The wooden buckets were piled up as nobody had used them yet. It was quiet and she could only hear the sound of water gushing out.

"Nobody's here. Well then…" she then walked into the hot water and leaned on a boulder while reminiscing about the past. She hadn't been to the hot springs since the night at Kyoto with the team. During that time the boys were one step from being executed by Mitsuru for peeping but Minako secretly helped them get out of that misunderstanding. However, they were ignored by the girls for the remainder of the trip after that night.

"I miss the good old days…" Minako sighed while enjoying the bath. Even though she was still thinking of going back to her old life as quickly as possible, she knew that she couldn't go back that easily.

"It's no use thinking about the past. I'll need to work hard if I am going to see them again." She then left the hot springs and went back to her room. When she arrived, she saw Ryoji waiting there for her. As soon as Ryoji saw her, he quickly walked up to Minako, his face showing concern, and said,

"Where were you? I searched the entire hotel and couldn't find you."

"I went for a bath. I thought you would check up on it, considering the things you and the guys did last time."

As Ryoji heard her speak, his face went bright red.

"N-no way, I wouldn't do anything wrong to you!" he waved his hands and passed it off. "Anyway, I found the transfer papers."

He then took out two papers. Minako took one of them and read the title in bold,

"Transfer document…"

She then looked at the details and found everything to be filled accordingly. There was the school's seal and the principal's signature. On each of the papers was their name and the school that they were about to transfer to.

"Where did you get this?" she was surprised at Ryoji's effort.

"I teleported to the principal's office in Gekkoukan and happened to find them inside one of the drawers in his desk. I then filled all of the information on the paper. Now maybe we could get into that school."

"Okay then, let's rest for tomorrow. I'm getting sleepy…" Minako yawned.

As she looked at the clock, it was almost midnight. She looked outside and saw that it was raining. A fog was beginning to set in. As they prepared to sleep, they suddenly hear sounds of static. They looked around the room and found that the television was on. Both of them were surprised and asked each other,

"Ryoji, did you turn on the television?"

"No, I thought you turned it on…"

"If it wasn't you or me, then…"

Minako quickly turned her attention to the television screen. There was no way that a television could turn on by itself, unless if mankind had suddenly installed motion sensor controls on the television while she was sealed. But judging by the model, it was clearly impossible.

As they watched the scene shown by the television, they could a female running for her life from hundreds of hands. Judging by her appearance, she was a young woman with short black hair and brown eyes, she was also wearing a white collar shirt, black skirt, black thick tights and black slippers.

"What's happening here…?" Minako asked, surprised at what they were seeing.

She then tried to turn the knobs on the television, hoping to change the channel. But it was no use, the channel did not change.

"Why is this happening? Ryoji, do you know anything about this?"

"No clue. I'm just as surprised as you are." he replied.

As the channel was still on, Minako tried of a way to change the channel. When she touched the screen, a sound was heard, like a drop of water falling to a lake. The screen was forming waves while the program was still on.

"What the…?"

She touched the screen again. This time, her finger went inside the television. Both of them were shocked by this. Minako tried to move back her hand, but an unknown force was preventing her from pulling back.

"Ryoji, I need some help here….!" she said as she tried to pull out her finger.

Ryoji quickly pulled her with all of his force. After a few minutes, they finally managed to pull her finger out. The screen went back to its original shape and the program ended not long after that.

"Phew, I thought that I was going to be sucked in there…" she panted heavily. "What happened just now?"

"It looks like we just found Izanami's territory."

"Does that mean there will be Shadows and the Dark Hour?"

"No… The Dark Hour can only be present on Nyx's territory. But the Shadows can exist at anywhere."

"Then let's go in!"

Minako was about to enter inside the television, but she was stopped by Ryoji.

"Don't rush things. Besides, you don't have a proper weapon, right? While we were on Tartarus, you only used your hands and legs for fighting. It will be better if you used your old weapon. By the way, we don't know about the other side of this TV yet. If we just rush in there without preparation, we may get killed there."

"You're starting to sound like Mitsuru…" Minako said, surprised at Ryoji's show of concern.

"I'm just worried about you."

"Eh!?" Minako's face blushed.

"Let's go tomorrow, after we've prepared everything, okay?"

"O-okay…"

She had no choice but to say yes. After that unforgettable incident, they went to bed, unaware of the events that will happen tomorrow…

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>__Another update! Hope you guys enjoyed it. By the way, I want some advice on the story so far. Is it too short for a chapter? Is the story progressing too slowly? Are the characters portrayed right? These thoughts have rushing through my mind since the story began. I would be really thankful if someone could correct me on this…_

_UPDATE (23/9): Sorry for the long wait. The next chapter won't be out for a while because my computer had to be reformatted. In other words, the next chapter that I was writing was formatted along with the rest of the data... I'm now trying to rewrite the chapter based on my memory (I forget things easily...). By the way, there will be a announcement on the next chapter that will maybe affect the progress of the story._


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting

Still in beta phase. So, more mistakes. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Where am I?" Minako said as she opened her eyes.<p>

As she looked around her surroundings, she found herself in a strange room. The floor, the ceiling and the furniture were all blue. A woman singing could be heard throughout the room. Anyone would feel surprised or scared when they first enter this place. But for Minako, this place was all too familiar for her…

"The Velvet Room…"

She had been here many times during her journey through Tartarus. It was a room that helped her through many obstacles during her journey. However, she felt that something was amiss.

The room was not the same.

She last remembered that the space was not too narrow, and that there were many doors in that room. Instead, the room was so small that she couldn't even stand up. There was a row of windows on both sides. She looked outside and saw nothing but thick fog. She also felt that the room itself was moving, although it was just normal for her.

"This feeling… Are we inside a vehicle?"

As she pondered while looking at the thick fog, she heard a familiar voice greeting her.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room…"

She quickly focused her attention in front of her and saw two figures, both of them whom she knew very well. One was an old man who she immediately recognized due to his unusually long nose. The other was a beautiful blond woman whom she met while she was journeying through the Desert of Doors.

"Igor… Margaret…" she muttered when she saw them.

"Ah, it seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny…" he chuckled. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter…"

"Wait a minute, this seems awfully familiar. If my memory doesn't fail me, the next thing he'll say is…"

"It is a room that only those bound by a 'contract' can enter…"

Her guess was right. However, she was surprised. She had completed her journey, so why did she come to this place again?

"You, who have found the answer to life, yet still wish to change your destiny… I haven't seen someone like you for so many years…"

He went silent for awhile, before he continued,

"You have lost the power to turn bonds into power, but you now have the power to lead others to the truth… Will you succeed, or will you lead them into despair?"

Minako couldn't answer. She had pondered about it for since she broke out of the seal, but it was the first time that somebody asked her the consequences of doing so. What if she destroyed the happiness of the person she intended to switch with? What if she ruined that person's life? All of those thoughts rushed through her mind. However, she was interrupted by Igor's next words.

"Do you still remember the contract?"

A paper soon appeared in front of her.

"This is the contract that you signed when we first met. Do you still remember what it wrote?" Igor asked her, holding the paper in question.

Minako still went silent, letting Igor answer his own question.

"You will abide by the contract and take responsibility for the choices you have made. If this is your choice, you must take responsibility for it and not falter."

She heard Igor's advice and began to rethink about her choice.

"He's right. I've made my choice. There's no backing down now." She stoned her face, her eyes gleaming with determination, showing a face that could face any obstacle.

"Well then, let's take a look at your future, shall we?"

Cards then began to appear at the table in front of Igor. He shuffled the cards and said,

"Each reading is told with the same cards, yet the result is always different." He then looked at Minako and continued, "Life follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

After arranging the cards in the shape of a diamond, Igor began his fortune telling.

"The card that represents the immediate future is…"

He then flipped the card on the upper right.

"The Tower, in the upright position. It seems that a great catastrophe is imminent."

"Maybe he's talking about the war…" Minako thought as she heard Igor's fortune telling. Igor then continued,

"The card that represents the future beyond is…"

He then flipped the card in the center.

"The Fortune, in the upright position. This card represents fate and opportunities…"

After making his predictions, he looks towards Minako and said,

"It seems that you will meet a misfortune at your destination, and multiple paths will be imposed on you. The path that you choose will be the turning point in your destiny… If you do not choose wisely, there may be no turning back…"

Margaret then spoke up.

"It seems that this may be the last time we meet, I wonder if we would meet again."

"Well then, we bid you farewell."

As Igor said goodbye, Minako felt that her surroundings were going black…

* * *

><p><strong>April 15th<strong>

**Amagi Inn**

**Minako and Ryoji's Room**

* * *

><p>"Min..ko…"<p>

"Unghh…"

"Minako… Hey Minako, wake up…"

"Just a few minutes more…"

"Sigh, since it has come to this… Minako, it's time for breakfast!"

"Where?!"

Minako immediately woke up from her sleep to find Ryoji standing in front of her. She looked at her surroundings with eyes filled with expectations and said,

"Ryoji, where's the food?"

"As soon as you change your clothes…" Ryoji's face went red as he pointed his finger at her.

She looked at a nearby mirror only to find herself in a complete mess. Her hair was messed up, her yukata was slightly loose, revealing some of her cleavage. Not only that, there was a drool mark on her cheek. When she noticed this, her face went red. She quickly picked up her pillow and threw it straight into Ryoji's face, saying,

"Get out!"

Ryoji immediately ran out of the room and waited outside while Minako cleaned herself up. After she was done changing, they went to the dining hall for their meal. The meal served to them was a bowl of white rice with grilled salmon and a bowl of miso soup. Though the meal was simple, the taste was still exquisite. They ate their breakfast with a smile on their faces. However, what happened next surprised Ryoji…

"I'm full."

As Minako said that while putting her chopsticks down, Ryoji dropped his.

"Did I just hear something wrong? After that rampage yesterday, she's saying that she's full after only one bowl? Something must be going on inside her mind…:

"Hmm, is something wrong, Ryoji?" she said as she looked at his surprised face.

"Nothing…" he picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.

After they finished their meal, it was time for them to head for their new school. As they arrived at the bus stop, they saw Yukiko waiting there. She was dressed differently than yesterday. She wore a red school uniform with opaque tights. Minako silently approached her and patted her on her shoulders while saying,

"Good morning!"

Yukiko was surprised and turned around to find the two of them behind her.

"Good morning to you too. Where are you guys going to?" she regained her composure and asked.

"Actually, we'll be transferring to Yasogami High starting today. I hope that we'll get along well, Yukiko-san."

"Sure…"

When the bus arrived, they quickly got on the bus. Their seating arrangements were very far between them so a conversation couldn't be struck. A few minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of Yasogami High. Though the school was not as big or modern then Gekkoukan High, seeing as this was the countryside, there were a lot of students attending the school. Many students can be seen entering the school building. Some of the students were gossiping between themselves while some were making small talk. As the trio entered the school building, Yukiko walked in front of them and said,

"Well, I think it's time for me to go to my class. See you again."

After that, she walked up the school stairs, leaving Minako and Ryoji.

"She isn't as friendly as I thought…" Ryoji said after watching her leave.

"Don't worry; I'm sure we'll be friends in the end. Now come on, it's time to report ourselves to the homeroom teacher."

"I hope the homeroom teacher will be as nice as Ms Toriumi…"

When they arrived at the Faculty Office, nobody was in except for a teacher and a student. The teacher's appearance could be said as weird of even goofy. He had a straight bob-cut black hair, hazel eyes, and buck teeth that would be the same as a beaver. He wore a dark-navy suit with white lines, white-collared long sleeved shirt and a yellow tie. When both of them saw the teacher's appearance, they couldn't help but hide their laughter. However, when they saw the student beside him, Ryoji immediately made a serious face. He slightly tugged at Minako's uniform and whispered,

"Minako, that's the Wild Card user!"

Minako immediately turned her attention towards the grey-haired teenager. The teenager was receiving a long sermon from the teacher. However, his expression was dead-pan. It looked like he wasn't feeling annoyed or bored about his preachings.

"So he's the one who is going to replace me…" she thought as she looked on.

After listening on the teacher's sermon for a while, they finally decided to close in and ask the teacher about their class placement.

"Umm, excuse me…" Minako interrupted the teacher's sermon, making the teacher to stop abruptly and look at them with an annoying face.

"Huh, what do you two want? Didn't your parents teach you that interrupting a teacher's conversation is rude? Kids these days, having no respect towards their elders…"

They had to endure the teacher's long speech while the teenager looked on with eyes that feel pity for them. After a while, the teacher finally asked them,

"So, what do you guys want?"

"Actually, we're trying to find our class…"

"Oh, the two transfer students who transferred here at the last minute, eh? It's bad for two of you to come here late. You guys from the city don't keep track of time, eh? In our school, students have to be punctual every day, not like you city kids…"

"This guy is pissing me off…" Ryoji thought as he heard the teacher make fun of two of them. However, he saw that Minako wasn't agitated, her face still making a smile.

"Anyways, the two of you are in Class 2-1, the homeroom teacher is Mr. Kondo. He's there right now so get your asses moving!"

"Thank you, umm…"

"The name's Kinshiro Morooka."

"Thank you, Morooka-sensei!"

When they were about to leave the Faculty Office, Minako stopped for a while to greet the teenager.

"My name is Minako Arisato, what's yours?"

"Yu Narukami, nice to meet you." The teenager said.

"Hey, no getting lovey-dovey in this school!" Morooka roared as soon as he saw the two of them talking together. Minako then immediately went out with Ryoji.

"That teacher really is annoying. What do you think, Minako?"

"Hmm, he's okay, I guess."

"You mean the teacher?!" Ryoji gasped.

"No, I mean Yu-kun."

"Oh…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes<strong>_: Sorry for the delay. It was my Graduation Day when I finished this chapter, now I have 1 week before the big one… Anyway, about the announcement, the series will be on hiatus until I have time to write, which is until February next year. The reason? A big test plus three months of national service. But there are a few days before that day so I might update. Because of this, I hope that the readers can look at my mistakes and criticize it so that I may improve and write a better story. If you have any questions, please send me a message.


	7. Chapter 7: First Victim

_Beta phase… Anyway, please enjoy!_

_Many thanks to the readers who review and favorite my story!_

* * *

><p>"Hmm… If I'm not mistaken, Class 2-1 should be here…" Minako said after walking up the stairs to the second-years.<p>

After a few minutes of walking, Minako and Ryoji finally found the class that they were assigned to. As they stood outside the classroom doors, they could hear an energetic and manly voice echoing from inside the classroom.

"Shall we enter?" Ryoji gestured to Minako.

She then opened the sliding wooden doors and went inside, surprising the students. The teacher, a male wearing a tracksuit sitting on the teacher's desk stood up and said,

"Ah, it looks like our transfer students are here!"

"The teacher sure is energetic…" she thought as she looked at the teacher.

The students sitting in front of them were gossiping and making small talk as they walked to the blackboard. Minako could hear some of their conversations.

"Transfer students? This is great!" a male student was talking to a teenager with dark blue hair. "Isn't it, Ichijo-san?"

"Yeah! Maybe I'll ask that guy to join the basketball team…" the teenager replied with a smile on his face.

"Okay, okay. Everybody, please quiet down." The teacher said to the students. They listened to him and quieted down. Afterwards, the teacher cleared his throat, before introducing them.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Minako Arisato and Ryoji Mochizuki. Please get along well, okay guys?"

The classroom then erupted with a loud 'yes'. The two were surprised by their enthusiasm, making an awkward face while looking on.

"Well then, why don't you two introduce yourselves?"

Minako first stepped forward. She gently bowed and made a smile while she said,

"Hello, my name is Minako Arisato! Pleased to meet you guys!"

The male students then roared loudly, as they were excited to meet a new female student. Afterwards, it was Ryoji's turn.

"Hello ladies~ my name is Ryoji Mochizuki. Please take good care of me, okay?" he said while pointing his finger to a group of female students and making a pose like he was a host from a nightclub.

The ladies cheered loudly as the finger was pointed to them. However, there was one girl who didn't react to Ryoji's ploy. She was a tall student and had short black hair with a light blue hairclip on her bangs. Ryoji saw the girl's uninterested reaction but decided to keep it to himself. After introductions were finished, Mr. Kondo looked around for any empty seats and found them arranged side by side.

"Okay, you two will sit there."

The two of them then walked to their respective seats. As they sat down, two students, a male and a female, turned around to talk to them.

"Welcome to Yasogami High!" the boy said. "What is the relationship between you two?"

"Well, I'm her boy-" Ryoji was going to complete his sentence, but turned to the left and saw that Minako was shooting a glare at him, as if telling him not to say something unnecessary. Ryoji gulped and said,

"Actually, we're distant relatives…"

Minako then returned to her cheery face. Ryoji's heart skipped a beat, as he was afraid what she would do to him. As homeroom started, a soft but recognized voice echoed through the walls of the classroom.

"Isn't that Morooka-sensei?" Minako asked the two students sitting in front of her.

"Oh, you mean King Moron? That's normal to us. He always criticizes any student who comes to this school. Wait a minute that means there is another transfer student! Bad luck for him or her though for being in King Moron's class…"

"Okay, let's start the lesson!" Mr. Kondo yelled loudly to the class.

The two students then turned back and began listening to the teacher.

"Wait a minute, isn't Yu-kun in Morooka-sensei's class?" she tugged at Ryoji's scarf and whispered.

"Yeah, I feel sorry for him too…" he replied, but suddenly started to laugh silently. "King Moron, that's a fitting name for him, hahaha!"

As time passed before the bell for the students to return home rang, Minako only stayed awake for an hour before she dozed off. The reason was because she had already gone through the whole syllabus. Seeing as she was too bored, she slowly rested her head on her desk, closed her eyes and slept for the whole duration of school.

"Hey Minako, it's time to go home." Ryoji said while he was trying to wake her up.

"Ungh…"

Minako then slowly opened her eyes and stretched her arms as she woke up.

"Where are we?" she asked while rubbing her eyes.

"We're at school, remember? Come on, let's go prepare for tonight."

When they exited their classroom, they heard a commotion from the class beside them. Curious as to what happened; they peeked inside and saw Yu and Yukiko together with a girl who had light-brown, bowl shaped hair and wearing a green athletic jacket adorned with buttons. Facing her was a boy who had messy brownish orange hair and wearing red V-shaped headphones on his neck. The boy had an apologetic face while the girl was clearly angry and carrying a DVD titled 'Trial of The Dragon'.

"I can't believe it… My 'Trial of The Dragon'…!" the girl said as she showed him a cracked disc.

"I-I'm sorry, Satonaka-san. I promise I'll buy a new one for you…" the boy said apologetically, pleading for mercy.

However, the girl didn't show any mercy, as she stepped forward and kicked the boy's crotch. The pain from her kick could be read from his face. He covered his wound and kneeled down on the floor. Everyone who saw this showed a face of pity to the boy, except for the girl.

"Come on, guys. Let's go." she said to Yu and Yukiko. They then left the classroom, with Yu taking a last look at the boy before leaving.

"Is he okay?" Minako asked Ryoji about the boy who was still kneeling down.

"I don't know, but that must've really hurt. A critical hit to the crotch…"

"Come on, let's help him."

They then rushed in to help the boy. Ryoji helped him to get up while Minako asked about his condition.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sort of…" he groaned as he tried to stand up with Ryoji's help.

After that, the boy was led to his seat. After drinking a bottle of water brought in by Minako, he sighed deeply and said,

"Sigh, Satonaka-san doesn't hold back, does she? It still hurts…"

"Why did she kick you?" Minako asked him.

"Oh, that? Well, I accidentally stepped on it while I was waking up from bed. The disc was on the floor since I was finished with it. I was half awake so I didn't pay attention to my surroundings…:

"So, it was your fault then."

"Ouch, that was hurtful. Oh well, I guess it was my fault… I'll go apologize to her again tomorrow then…"

"Okay, I guess we'll be leaving then."

"Hold on a sec, can I have your name?"

"Minako Arisato. The one with the scarf beside me is Ryoji Mochizuki. We're transfer students who transferred here today."

"No wonder, you're wearing a different uniform than ours. The name's Yosuke Hanamura, nice to meet you two."

"Well then, see you tomorrow Yosuke-kun."

After a long conversation with Yosuke, the two then left the school and were heading forward to the shopping district. However, as they were walking through the streets, they saw a crowd nearby. Police vans and an ambulance were also there.

"What's going on?" Minako thought.

As they walked closer, they saw Yu, Yukiko and the girl who beat up Yosuke staring at the top of an antenna.

"Hey Yu-kun, Yukiko-chan!" she called out to them.

"Oh, it's you two." Yukiko said as she saw them.

"Yukiko, you know them?" The girl asked her. Yukiko then nodded her head and replied,

"They're staying at my family's inn for now."

"Nice you meet you two. I'm Chie Satonaka." The girl introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you too! By the way, what's happening here?" Minako asked them.

"Well… A dead body showed up hanging upside down from the antenna up there. Scary, huh?"

"Um, not really…"

The reason she wasn't scared because she was particularly fine with seeing people dying, as she had seen a few deaths.

"Really?!" Chie was surprised by her reaction. "Anyone would be terrified with the mention of a dead body."

"Oh well, where's the body?"

"They took it down and moved it with an ambulance. His uncle is now questioning everybody who lives here so I think we'd better leave." She pointed at Yu's direction.

"Okay then. Me and Ryoji are going to shopping district. We'll see you at the inn, Yukiko-chan!"

"Okay…"

After bidding goodbye to the trio, they headed towards a shop called Daidara Metalworks. As they entered the shop, many weapons and armors were displayed on every corner of the store. It made the two wonder if anyone would come into this store. As they were looking at the items, a loud and hoarse voice was heard.

"Welcome to my shop!"

As Minako and Ryoji turned their attention to the counter, they saw an old man with short orange auburn hair. His head was almost bald, with sideburns attaching to his mustache, and a X-shaped scar over his face. He was wearing a white thick towel tied into a bow on his head and smoking.

"My name is Daidara. I'm the owner of this shop. I consider making weapons and armor as art and take every concentration and passion into making them. So, what do you guys want?"

"Actually, we're hoping that you would help us make a weapon." Minako told him.

"A weapon huh? What kind of weapon?

"A naginata that can be separated into different sections and put back together."

"Why would you want that kind of weapon?" he asked with a curious look.

"Well, I can only use a naginata for now and I don't want a weapon that can be the center of attention in the public and get confiscated by the police…"

She thought that Daidara would reject their request. However, Daidara laughed loudly and said,

"Muahahaha! Nice plan, young lady! Okay, let me see what I can do. But first, I need you guys to help me gather some ingredients."

"Ingredients?"

"You see, I like to make weapons that are high-quality. So, I want you to help me find some ingredients for your weapon. Anything is fine."

"Okay then. We'll help."

"For now, how about this hockey stick? You don't have to worry about it being noticed by the police."

He then handed her a hockey stick. As Minako received it, she made a few swings with it.

"This is perfect!"

"Nice swings, young lady! Well then, see you later!"

"Thank you, Daidara oji-san!"

After that, they left the shop and went back for their journey to the TV world…

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes<strong>__: Another chapter for you guys to enjoy! Actually, it's the exams for me but I still can't resist the urge of writing a story, haha. Actually, I'm thinking of writing a new fanfic about THE IDOLMASTER but I still haven't fully grasp the story just yet, but I'll still focus on this story too so don't worry._


	8. Chapter 8: New Home

"What's happening here?"

That was the first thing that Minako said as soon as she entered the Amagi Inn. A lot of customers were piling up on the reception desk, making a ruckus with Kasai. The hostesses were busy, running back and forward, trying to cater to the guests' demands. But it looked like they would never get the job done in time.

Minako and Ryoji were surprised at the state of the inn and quickly made their way into the reception desk, where Kasai was still addressing the customers' complaints. However, as they walked closer, they could hear that some of the complaints weren't really about the inn…

"Did Mayumi Yamano really stay in this inn?"

"No, I don't want to stay in an inn haunted by a ghost!"

"Dear guests, please calm down…"

Kasai tried to calm the guests down, but to no avail.

"How can you expect us to calm down when there is a ghost in this inn!?"

"I'm leaving this inn!"

Minako squeezed into the crowd and managed to reach Kasai. While trying to prevent herself from being pushed back by the crowd, she asked with a curious look on her face.

"What's happening, Kasai-san?"

"It's terrible. The mistress has fainted after hearing the news that Yamano-san is dead. The guests also heard the news and are trying to leave the inn. Yukiko-sama hasn't even come back from school yet. If this goes on, I don't think the inn will last…"

After looking back at the rampaging guests who were still trying to leave the inn, Minako couldn't leave the staff all by themselves. Willing to lend a helping hand, Minako said something that made Ryoji's jaw drop.

"Don't worry. Ryoji and I can help, just like yesterday!"

"Really? That would be wonderful!"

Kasai's expression became happier and she then breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that there was someone who would try to help.

"Okay then, please change into your work clothes and get to work immediately."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

After leaving Kasai to her duties, Minako then dragged Ryoji together to work. While being dragged by her, he turned his head towards her and said,

"Wait a second, why do I have to work too?"

"Come on; let's just lend a helping hand."

"Really? I don't see you being this helpful in the past…"

After hearing Ryoji's remarks, Minako was slightly taken aback by it.

"Y-You're misunderstanding! I always help others in need!"

"Yeah right, you always accepted Theodore's requests, knowing that he would give a reward if you complete it. Am I wrong?"

As Ryoji said that, Minako felt that her body was pierced by a spear, as if her true feelings had been revealed. What Ryoji said was true; Whenever there was a request from Theodore, she would always accept it, knowing that he would always give her a reward. She let go of her grip on Ryoji and said.

"A-Anyway, let's just help out with the inn, okay?"

After getting up and wiping the dust from his clothes, Ryoji scratched the back of his head and muttered.

"As you say so..."

After that conversation, they finally changed into the work clothes that they wore yesterday and began helping out with the inn. It wasn't easy, as some of the customers won't listen to reason, which prompted Minako to scold them. Some of the guests tried to retaliate by filing a complaint to the inn, but she wasn't scared by the threats and resumed scolding them while daring them to try doing it, which led to the guests to finally give up and behave properly.

A while later, Yukiko finally returned from school, surprised at the current state of the inn. The staff was happy and eager for her return to work, as she was the only one who could keep up with the busy work.

After asking Kasai about the situation, she quickly went to work. As expected, she handled the work with speed and grace. A lot of the guests who were rowdy were quickly calmed down and returned to their rooms.

"Wow, as expected from the manager's daughter… She's incredible…"

Ryoji gasped after seeing Yukiko handle the inn's chores one by one without doing even a single mistake, unlike him who would make a mistake or two.

"Well, she's been trained for several years. I don't expect her to fail in anything related to managing an inn…"

Few hours later, the crowd that was gathering at the reception desk was finally gone and the inn has settled down. The staff were really happy and breathed a sigh of relief, including Minako and Ryoji, who immediately laid down on the sofas on the lobby.

"Ah, it's finally quiet… I'm so tired…"

Minako sighed happily as she hugged a pillow.

"Me too…"

"On behalf of the inn, I'm really grateful for helping us in this time of crisis."

When they looked forward and saw Kasai standing in front of them, they quickly stood up from the sofas, scared that she would scold them.

"No, it's really nothing."

"For helping us out at the inn today, you don't have to pay for the rooms today. It's the least that we could repay your kindness. The meal tomorrow is free too."

"Really? Thank you!"

After hearing that they wouldn't have to spend a yen for the night, both of them jumped up in delight, happy that their hard work wasn't in vain. A while later, Kasai then continued,

"Actually, I have another request too, if you don't mind."

"Sure, anything."

"Actually, could you two help out with the inn for a while? The mistress has fainted and I don't think she'll be fit to work in her condition. Because of this, I have to take over for a while. Also, I am worried that the crisis will repeat itself tomorrow."

"Hmm…"

Minako was deep in thought. She was trying to get close to Yu as soon as possible in order to get back to her normal life, but she couldn't abandon someone in need. Ryoji tugged at her shoulders and whispered.

"I think we should refuse. We're in a hurry to get back your life, remember?"

"But we couldn't just leave them. They need our help."

"Excuse me…"

Hearing Kasai speak out, the two turned their attentions toward her to listen.

"Actually, I want to ask one thing. Why are two here in this rural town?"

"Oh, um…"

Trying to find a way to get out of this situation, Minako then tugged Ryoji's shoulders, signaling him to help her. Ryoji knew this and answered with a calm expression.

"Actually, we just moved here. Her parents have to go to work overseas and left us here. But we found out that they didn't rent us a house so we have no choice but to stay in this inn while trying to find a place to stay."

"Wow, good excuse…"

Minako whispered to him after hearing Ryoji's excuse. Kasai then went silent for a while before she nodded her head and said.

"In that case, how about you two work in exchange for staying at this inn? The food is also free and we will pay you for your services."

"Huh?"

The two gasped in unison. The rewards for them were too great; Free food, accommodations… Not even that, they would also get paid. It was a once in a lifetime chance. Minako didn't think for a second as she quickly replied with a nod and a big smile on her face.

"We'll take it!"

After hearing this, Kasai then smiled and made a bow as she said.

"Well then, the room that you're staying is yours for the time being. Work begins tomorrow, after school."

"Okay then. It is a pleasure working with you all!"

After that conversation, Minako and Ryoji went back to their rooms. After entering their rooms, they sat on their respective chairs, thinking of a plan before entering the world inside the television.

"So, we have some weapons, a base of operations…"

"We're missing some items."

"You're right... I don't think we can go inside the television today. Let's supply some tomorrow so we can start exploring. "

"Yeah. Besides, I feel tired…"

"Okay. Sleep well, Minako."

"Alright…"

After Minako went to sleep, Ryoji then went outside to take a fresh air and think for a moment. The moonlight was clouded by the clouds and a light breeze can be felt. It was quiet, and it was a perfect place to think.

"So, we'll be exploring tomorrow, huh… To be honest, I'm a little worried. When we go in there we don't know what monsters will be waiting for us... Plus, Minako can't switch personas and we don't have enough people to fight. I can't use my power too… What should I do at a time like this?"

After sighing deeply, he began to think again.

"Okay… Maybe I can see Nyx. She would know what to do…"

As he made a determined face, he opened a black portal and walked into it. After he walked through the pitch black road for a while, he found himself in a black and hollow room. There were no furniture, no doors or windows; it was a room meant to hold people in. In the middle of the room was a white haired girl standing there with a depressing look on her face. She was wearing a black robe and a black ribbon was tied on her hair. Ryoji approached her and said.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back. What is it that you need, my son?"

"Actually, I want to find a way to help Minako in her battles."

"…Then use this."

A white light then enveloped the room. It was so light that Ryoji closed his eyes. After he opened them, he saw that there was something in his hands; an old–looking pendant with an emblem of the moon.

"This is a magical pendant. I believe that girl will find it to be very useful."

"What does it do?"

"It harnesses the memories of someone whom the owner shares a true bond with and converts it into the owner's power. "

"Thank you. I'll be going-"

"Wait. I must warn you; Use the pendant wisely. Dire consequences will befall on that girl if she uses this. Only use this when there are no other options."

"Alright. Thank you, mother."

After that, Ryoji walked into the portal again, departing for the inn. The girl, known as Nyx, then muttered.

"Maybe I was wrong to give him that amulet… "

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>__Okay. I'm really sorry for not updating for a while. I was in NS and didn't have the time to write. Besides, I have been trying to juggle between my two stories, which failed. Don't worry though; I will continue to update the story to the very end. On the other hand, if there are some mistakes, tell me. I haven't played Persona 4 for a while and my memory is getting all hazy…_

_EDIT: Hi. To be honest, I would be happy if there was anyone who would be willing to beta-read my story. This is because I have been trying a few ways to improve my story, with no idea if it would be the right thing to do. If there was someone who would take a few minutes of their time to beta-read this story, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!  
><em>


	9. Chapter 9: The Supermarket

"Come on, let's go to school!"

"Yes, Minako."

Both Minako and Ryoji had prepared themselves and were leaving for school. The two were now wearing the standard Yasogami High uniforms. However, Ryoji still opted wearing his long, yellow scarf over his uniform. Though it was a little too early, but Minako insisted that they leave early in the morning every day. Ryoji had no choice but to comply with her wishes. After all, he was tasked to protect her and get her wish granted; the release of her soul and the return of her normal life.

However, all of those great rewards come with a great price.

If they want to release Minako's soul from the Great Seal, they would have to swap her soul with someone else's, namely another Wild Card user like her.

It would happen to be coincidence that there was another Wild Card user in the city of Inaba.

That person is the transfer student that came to the city at the same day as them; the mysterious silver-haired teenager, Yu Narukami.

The butterfly that Elizabeth and Theodore sent them was a tracker that identifies Persona users with special powers. The butterflies, which are velvet blue in color, would follow the target as a sign that it has found its target.

However, even though they found him didn't mean that they could immediately use him to swap souls.

Though the soul is bound to the Great Seal, there exist two factions who are fighting to undo the seal. They are the angels and devils from their respective worlds. They wish to use Nyx, the demon responsible for the Apathy Syndrome in Tatsumi Port Island, and also responsible for unleashing The Fall, a calamity that was known as the end of the world.

Not only that the soul is burdened with the war between the two factions, the soul also had to withstand the brutal attacks made by Erebus, an entity that wishes to destroy the seal and unleash Nyx upon the world.

If they send in Yu Narukami without any training, he would surely be defeated by Erebus in no more than a few seconds. Because of this, they decided to spend a few months to train him into the perfect seal like Minako herself.

It was the third day of their staying in Inaba, and their second day of school in Yasogami High. Though they managed to meet with Yu Narukami, it would take a few days to establish a relationship with him, as they were from different classes.

Minako was not that impatient to rush things that quickly. During her days in Gekkoukan High, she managed to make many friends, and that was due to her patience in handling relationships. For her, making friends with Yu should be fairly easy.

As they were about to leave the inn, Kasai approached them with a smile that would put weary travelers to rest as they entered the inn.

"Good morning, Kasai-san!"

Minako quickly greeted her with a smile of her own and bowed towards her. It was common practice for the staff members of the inn to bow to the guests, and Minako was trying to get used to the traditions in this inn.

"A lovely smile as always, Minako-san. Actually, can you please be back before night falls? I'm afraid that we would have to brave through the news reporters and guests while our mistress is resting due to the stress placed upon her…"

Seeing Kasai frown as she continued explaining, Minako didn't hesitate and agreed to Kasai's pleads.

"Don't worry, Kasai-san! We'll be back, I promise!"

"Is that so? Well then, please allow me to thank you once again."

Kasai then bowed out of gratefulness for the two of them, her frown turning into a smile once again.

"Please be careful on your way to school."

As they exited the inn, they boarded the bus together with Yukiko, who was surprisingly looking sullen. The two couldn't get close to her and asked the reason as they arrived at school.

As usual, class started for them. For Minako, it was good chance to go to school again. For her age now, she should've gone to college, but she would have been deemed unqualified as she hasn't finished her high school studies yet. Though, she just felt happy that she could live a new life in another place, even though it's just temporary.

While English class was in session, Minako was listening intently at the teacher's explanations. However, Ryoji, who hadn't said a word since they left the inn, was staring blankly into the foggy sky. He was thinking about the item that he received from his mother, Nyx…

*This is a magical pendant. I believe that girl will find it to be very useful.*

*What does it do?*

*It harnesses the memories of someone whom the owner shares a true bond with and converts it into the owner's power.*

_It really looks like it is a powerful item. However, what bugs me is…_

What Ryoji was thinking about was the after-effects that Nyx warned him if she were to use the pendant…

*Use the pendant wisely. Dire consequences will befall on that girl if she uses this. Only use this when there are no other options.*

"What did she mean about consequences…?"

"Mochizuki-kun, please translate this sentence for me."

Ryoji didn't hear the teacher's voice and continued daydreaming. However, he was met with a loud wake-up call from Minako.

"Hey, Ryoji, snap out of it!"

As soon as he heard that, his body shook so hard that his chair was about to go out of balance, resulting in him falling down from his chair. Luckily, he managed to find his balanced and avoid a much bigger embarrassment in class.

"Mochizuki-kun, no daydreaming in class! Now, help me translate this sentence."

"Yes, teacher…"

Ryoji sighed deeply before he proceeded to translate the sentence given into fluent English. Everyone who heard this was surprised, as he sounded just like a foreigner. Murmurs were already surrounding the class after he finished his translation.

"Wow, as expected of Ryoji-kun, not only did he spoke well, he also looks good!"

"I like him more and more!"

The embarrassing incident was then buried as the classmates marveled at Ryoji's capabilities. Though, he continued to daydream as usual for the rest of the class. Minako saw this and was worried. What happened to him last night, she thought.

After class ended, Ryoji and Minako left their classmates alone and went the classroom beside theirs. It was the class that Yu Narukami was in. When they entered the classroom, they saw that Yu was talking to Yosuke.

Eager to strike up a conversation with them, Minako moved towards them, interrupting their talk.

"Hey, Yosuke-kun! Feeling better after that kick to the crotch?"

Hearing Minako's words, Yosuke then looked a bit depressed.

"Don't mention that ever again. I'm still fine, though. Thanks for asking."

"Is that so? That's fine then."

Though they only met for a day. It already looked like they were two friends who were just having a friendly chat.

"By the way, have you met Yu-kun? He transferred here too yesterday, just like you two." Yosuke pointed towards Yu.

"Yeah, I did. Are you getting used to this place?" She asked him.

Yu-kun then nodded his head in reply.

"How about you two?"

It was now Yosuke's turn to ask them. Minako also nodded her head in reply.

"We're living just fine here. We're now staying at Yukiko-san's inn, and the staff there is very nice!" She smiled as she thought about the inn.

"Wow, you're staying at the Amagi Inn?! Is that true, Yukiko-san?"

Hearing Yosuke's question, Yukiko turned around and nodded her head.

"Yeah, they just arrived at the inn two days ago and are now staying there."

"Whoa, it must be very cool to stay there. It's the most famous inn in town!" Yosuke's eyes stared in disbelief at Yukiko's statement.

"By the way, how's King Moron's class?" Minako directed that question towards Yu.

"It's still okay." He replied, with a straight face.

"Oh yeah, we're just talking about going to eat the town's local delicacy. You guys wanna come? It's grilled steak, you know!"

"Grilled steak?! We would love to! Right, Ryoji? She asked him, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Alright then…" He had no choice but to agree, as she didn't want to upset her.

"Great!"

Just as they were about to leave though, Chie Satonaka walked towards them, which prompted them to stay as they were.

"Hey, Yosuke, what about me? No apologies?"

"What do you mean?" He looked away, like he didn't want any part in this.

"Duh, my 'Trial of the Dragon'."

Yosuke then sighed deeply, having to remember about what happened yesterday.

"Ugh… You always come around when I'm talking about food…" Yosuke groaned.

"How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us too?"

Yukiko then stood up and took her bag, as if she was ready to go home.

"I'll pass. I don't want to gain any more weight. I need to help out at the inn today, anyway."

"Wow, Yukiko-san! You started training to take over the business?"

Upon hearing that, Yukiko frowned a bit.

"It's not like that! I'm just helping out when it gets busy."

She then walked towards the exit and said,

"Well, I should be on my way."

"Yukiko, we'll be back after we had our meal. Please tell that to Kasai-san, okay?"

"Sure."

After Yukiko left the classroom, Chie then stretched her arms and said,

"Oh well, we should get going too."

"Huh, do I seriously have to treat four people?"

Yosuke was taken aback at the situation that he was facing. He didn't have that much money to treat that many and he was also saving up to buy a motorcycle. Because of this, it would take up a bit more time to earn back the money.

After they left school, they headed towards a huge supermarket. It was Junes, the largest supermarket in Inaba. As they rode the elevator to the top floor, Chie was already showing a displeased face. On the other hand, Minako was just thinking of the food that they were about to eat, her saliva almost coming out of her mouth. Ryoji and Yu were just their normal selves, not minding anything that was happening in their surroundings.

When they arrived at the top, they found themselves in June's food court. Yosuke and Minako went and ordered their stuff, while the rest went and found a place to sit. Few moments later, the two arrived, with Minako carrying plates of assorted food in a tray. Everyone but Ryoji was surprised at the amount of food.

"Whoa, you eat that much?" Chie gasped while she pointed at the assorted foods on Minako's tray.

"I was also surprised too. For your information, she paid for all of that…" Yosuke also couldn't help but be surprised at Minako's appetite.

"You'll get used to it…" Ryoji just sighed at the sight of the food.

"By the way… This is the cheap place you were talking about? They don't grilled steak here!" Chie roared when she found out when Yosuke was lying.

"Well, since you had to hop on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans."

"Still, there's no reason to take us to your place!"

"Dude, this isn't my place or anything."

Minako, Ryoji and Yu were confused at Chie's statement. Realizing this, Yosuke answered their question.

"Oh yeah, I haven't told you guys yet, right? You see, I moved here from another city about six months back. This location just opened up, and my dad was assigned to manage it. So, our entire family came out here."

Finally answered their questions, Yosuke grabbed his plastic cup and held it up high.

"Here, this is to welcome you guys to town."

Everyone then naturally began to grab their plastic cups one by one.

"Satonaka-san, yours is on me too."

"Yeah, I know."

After everyone bumped their plastic cups with each other, they proceeded to sit down, with Minako quickly digging in. While she was wolfing down on the food, Ryoji was busy talking with the rest of them. Though it started out as a small talk at first, the talk became livelier as it went on.

"It's only been half a year since this place opened, but I hadn't been to the shopping district that that much since then." Chie said while drinking her soda.

"Maybe it's because of Junes?" Ryoji asked.

"Yeah, it's mostly true. A lot of stores closed weeks after it opened. But, oh, uh…"

After remembering that the son of the manager of the said mall was just sitting on their table, chatting happily, Chie closed her mouth before she could say anything more. But, Yosuke shook his head, telling her that it was okay.

"You can't blame it all on Junes, can't you?"

He then thought for a while, looking for evidence that Junes wasn't all to blame for. Alas, he couldn't think of anything noteworthy. Just as he was crossing his hands and digging deep into his mind, he suddenly saw a girl with long and brown wavy hair. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, navy jeans, navy shoes and an apron from Junes, which indicated that she was an employee of Junes.

Yosuke quickly stood up from his chair, looking happy.

"Hey, it's Saki-senpai!"

Before he left the table, he bowed apologetically to the others and said,

"Sorry, be right back."

After he went to the girl's side, Yu pointed at the direction of the girl and asked,

"Who is she?"

"Oh, her? That's Saki Konishi. Her family owns a liquor store in the shopping district. Though, it looks like she's working part time here."

They could hear the conversation between the two from their location. Yosuke was the first to initiate a conversation with her.

"Hey, how's it going? You look beat."

Noticing Yosuke was beside her, the girl, known as Saki, turned around.

"Oh, hey, Hana-chan. I'm finally on break…"

After sighing in relief, she continued,

"So, Hana-chan, trying to boost the family business by bringing your friends here?"

Upon hearing that, Yosuke struck a dramatic pose and said in another accent,

"Madam, you wound me!"

It was obviously that he was trying to make her laugh, and it worked.

"Kidding aside, are you alright? You look a little pale…"

Saki then waved her hands in disagreement.

"…It's nothing. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Hey, if you want a helping hand, I'm always willing to listen…"

Hearing that Yosuke was glad to help her, Saki smiled and replied,

"I'm okay. Thanks, though."

Though few people couldn't hear what Saki said next, Minako and Ryoji were able to hear the words clearly.

"Sigh… Why did I leave school early yesterday?"

Yosuke was puzzled at what she was saying. But, it was nothing to be concerned about as she stood up and looked at the others.

"Hey, are those the kids who transferred here?"

She then stood up and walked towards Minako and the others. With Yosuke following her, she first approached Yu, who turned his attention on her as soon as he saw her walking towards them.

"Hi, are you guys the transfer students? You must've heard about me from Hana-chan. He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you guys can get along with him good. He's a good guy, but you gotta telling him right in the face when he gets annoying." She smiled as she said the last part.

Yosuke's face went red when she heard her say like that about him. But, Yu shook his head and replied,

"Nah, he's a good guy."

Her smile was even brighter when she heard the answer.

"Ahaha, I know. I'm just kidding. Well then, my break's almost over, so see you guys later."

She then left the group and went back to work.

Yosuke looked like he had something else to say, but he didn't have the time to say it as Saki just walked away from them. Realizing that asking her out was futile, he sat down, feeling dejected.

"Come on, buckle up. You have other days to ask her out!" Chie said as she patted her back.

"Yeah…"

"By the way, have you guys heard about this rumor?"

As soon as they heard the word 'rumor', everyone lent their ears what Chie had to say. Even Minako who was busy eating her food had stopped for a while, knowing that it may be important news.

"It's called the Midnight Channel. You're supposed to look at the TV that's switched off when it's raining, exactly at midnight. When you're supposed to stare at your own image, another person will appear on your screen. And they say that person is your soulmate."

Hearing this supposed rumor, Minako and Ryoji couldn't dismiss this as a fake rumor. That was because they just experienced it for themselves two days ago.

However, the person who appeared on the screen wasn't Minako's soulmate, but instead it was the dead news reported, Mayumi Yamano, running from countless hands. Since that channel aired, Mayumi Yamano was found dead the next day.

"Hah! And I thought you were going to say something useful…"

Yosuke dismissed it as nothing more than a baseless rumor. Chie then snapped and slammed her hands on the table.

"You think it's not real? Well, then, why don't we try it out, tonight?"

From the weather that Minako and Ryoji saw last night, it was going to rain tonight, which would fulfill the conditions for the Midnight Channel to appear.

"You haven't even tried it out? Okay then, we'll try it out tonight."

After that, they continued their conversation as usual. However, Minako and Ryoji left them while it was still early because they have to work at the inn.

"Well then, what do we do now?" Ryoji asked as they walked out from the exit.

"We'll try it one more time today, after we finish our work."

"Alright, then."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>__Hi guys, I'm back. Sorry for not writing this for, almost like a year. My mind has been busy lately and for that time I was stumped on the story. I'll promise that I'll try to update this later this year. For now, this story is back from hiatus!_


	10. Chapter 10: Entry

"Minako-san, take these food to room 348, okay?"

"Yes, Kasai-san!"

"Excuse me, I need extra pillows…"

"Coming right up, madam!"

"Could you please give me an extra robe? The one I was wearing got stained by the soy sauce…"

"Here you go, sir!"

Minako and Ryoji came back from Junes and were instantly thrown into a wave of customers as they entered the Amagi Inn. The inn seemed to be busier than usual, as a lot of guests who were from town came to Inaba.

Because of this, they had to work endlessly for hours, fulfilling the customers' requests one by one while trying not to faint on the job.

When midnight approached, they were finally free from the torture that took a toll on their bodies.

"Finally… I'm tired…"

Minako was about half asleep as she slowly lied down on the couch in the lobby. She had to tolerate a lot from the customers, from making extra trips to their rooms, to handling them food and other necessities.

"At least you're just running around. I had to listen to complaints from the customers..."

As for Ryoji, he was stuck at the counter, listening to the customers' requests. But most of the customers only came to ask about the rumor that the dead Mayumi Yamano staying at the inn, or just ranting about how bad the inn was. Ryoji had no choice but to put on a bright smile and listen for hours without end.

"By the way, Yukiko-san is doing well even though there were so many customers. As expected from the manager's daughter, huh?"

Ryoji pointed his finger towards Yukiko who was delivering towels to the customers. She didn't show any sign of fatigue and did her job faster than the staff in the inn. She was so focused that she didn't notice that Ryoji was talking about her.

"She has more experience than us, plus she's still young. It's expected that she's the most competent one."

Minako pointed out Yukiko's strengths while she was lying on the sofa, closing her eyes and yawned.

"Maybe you could learn a thing from her or two."

After hearing Ryoji's suggestion, she quickly stood up and retorted,

"Hey, at least I was in charge of leading the guys in Tartarus!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You did a great job that time, Minako. Let's go back to our room, okay?"

"You're right. The Midnight Channel's about to start."

After saying good night to the other staff, they went back to their room and stood in front of the television screen that was switched off. They stared at the television screen intently while looking at the clock to see if it was time.

When the clock struck midnight, the television was switched on, with neither of the two switching it on.

They already knew that the Midnight Channel exists, so they weren't that surprised when it actually happened.

As they heard the static sound coming from the television, all they see was a blurry image of a girl. Though the face cannot be seen, it could be assumed that the girl had long, wavy hair and was wearing a high school uniform.

"A girl? But what Satonaka-san said was…"

"If you stare at the television that was switched off at midnight, a person would appear on the screen. And they say, that person is your soulmate."

After the television turned off by itself, the two of them were pondering who the person was shown.

"It's a girl right? But that means what Satonaka-san said was wrong…"

"Yeah; my soulmate can't possibly be a girl, right?"

"You may never know what happens next. By the way, did you see that? It looks like the 'soulmate' goes to Yasogami High."

Though they could guess the identity of the person shown in the screen, there was still a nagging feeling that lingered in both of their minds.

"Hey Ryoji…"

"What is it?"

"Did you remember when we saw the Midnight Channel last time?"

"You mean the one where we saw Mayumi Yamano running from a bunch of hands?"

"Yeah. And you remembered what happened the next day?"

"She was found dead hanging from a… Wait a minute, you can't possibly mean…"

Ryoji was surprised at what Minako was thinking. Though it could be a joke, Minako's eyes were deadly serious as she said,

"Whoever shows up at the Midnight Channel, dies."

A moment of silence then enveloped the room for a while. Ryoji then broke the silence by saying,

"Should we go in there to check it out?"

Minako shook her head in reply.

"We can't. We're exhausted from the work we've done today. Plus, there is a difference in what was shown on the screen."

"What do you mean?"

"Why was the picture shown blurry, while the Midnight Channel we saw last time was crystal clear? It means that the person will only die when the image shown is clear. "

"You're right… Wow, you're good at this stuff."

"I didn't experience a whole year of fighting shadows for nothing. If it was Mitsuru-senpai, she'd be able to figure out the whole thing, no sweat."

Minako then walked to her futon, yawning.

"Now, let's go to sleep."

"Alright, good night, Minako."

As Minako tucked in for the night, Ryoji stepped out of the inn, trying to get some fresh breath of air.

Looking at the beautiful night sky, he lamented how he was unable to change Minako's fate. It was because of the incident with Nyx that she was unable to live out a normal life compared to others, like Yosuke or Chie.

And he was part of the disaster that happened. Though he wanted to stay alongside her, he couldn't do that, because he was part of Nyx, the part that was needed to bring about The End.

"All I can do to repay for my sins is to help her, even if it means killing myself to achieve that."

He muttered as he frowned, the leaves scattering due to the strong wind.

The next day went on as usual, until school ended. Minako and Ryoji followed Yu, Yosuke and Chie to Junes again, this time talking about the results of their encounter of the Midnight Channel.

As they bought the drinks and sat down on their usual place, Yosuke was the first one to break the ice.

"So, did you guys see it?"

Chie drank her juice before she replied,

"It was a girl! But it can't be, my soulmate is a girl?"

Listening to her question, it looked like Minako's guess was right. The rumor that spread among the students was false. However, she needed more hard evidence to the mystery.

The only one left was Yu, who replied with the craziest statement,

"My hand got stuck inside the TV. I tried to get it out and ended up banging my head on the table."

Hearing this, Yosuke and Chie instantly burst into laughter. Minako and Ryoji had no choice but to laugh, since what he was saying was not wrong. In fact, Minako had just experienced the same thing a few days ago.

"Come on, dude. You don't expect us to believe that, do you?"

"But it was true-"

Yu's face was serious, unlike the rest of them who were still laughing.

"Yeah, but we have never heard that you can stick a hand inside a body. But, I love the part where you hit you head after getting it out. It seems so realistic."

"But it was true…"

Minako had already stopped laughing as Yu tried to tell them the truth. She had a serious look on her face, though only Ryoji noticed it.

After a while of chatting, Minako and Ryoji realized that they had to go back to work. Before they left, Chie was discussing about her thought of buying a new television.

"My parents want a bigger television. Do you have any recommendations, Yosuke?"

"Why, madam, you've come to the right place! Let me direct you to our range of televisions. Please come this way."

The gang finished their drinks and began to walk towards the elevator. Minako and Ryoji had no time left to accompany them and thus had to separate from them.

"Well then, I guess we're heading back then. See you tomorrow, guys!"

Before the two rode the elevator home, Minako approached Yu, leaning her body right next to her ear and whispered,

"I think you're telling the truth, Yu-kun."

As Yu turned to face her, she had already ridden the elevator down. He was surprised stared at the closed elevator for a while before Yosuke shouted from afar,

"Hey, we're heading towards the appliance department, Narukami!"

"Coming!"

Minako and Ryoji continued with their work at the inn, but they tried to do as little work as possible, to save their energy for the trip to the world inside the television. By listening to the weather report in the morning, they found out that today was raining, and there would be heavy fog tomorrow.

They prepared for their trip, stocking health recovery items and their weapons, and waited until the Midnight Channel turned on. The sky they saw outside the window was already beginning to envelop with fog as the rain poured heavily.

When the clock struck midnight, the Midnight Channel began to show on the television screen.

And what they saw next shocked them till they were unable to keep their composure.

"No way… Is that?!"

Taking her belongings, Minako quickly put her hand into the screen like the last time, but with no hesitation as she also placed her head into the screen which also disappeared into it. As she pushed herself forward, she was no longer seen, already entering the television.

"Minako! I should have told her not to act rashly…"

Ryoji muttered and also entered the television like Minako. As the screen which looked like waves were forming turned normal, the Midnight Channel was still showing.

And what it showed was,

Saki Konishi, being grabbed by a dark shadow by the neck.


	11. Chapter 11: Despair

"Hey, wait Minako!"

Entering the television from their room, Ryoji saw waves of black and white flashing before them. In front of him was Minako who was completely silent as they floated through the space.

"I told you not to go inside! We don't know what happens over there! There might not be a way out if we go in!"

"I don't care! All we have to do is to save her!"

"But…"

"We have to hurry up and save Konishi-senpai!"

A few minutes before they went into the television, the both of them saw a surprising scene in the Midnight Channel. Inside a wooden house filled with furniture and alcohol scattered wildly, Saki Konishi, whom the two of them met yesterday, was being strangled by none other than herself. Saki clearly looked like she was in pain, as the other Saki looked on with yellow lit eyes and a creepy smile on her face.

Wanting to save her, Minako quickly jumped to the other world inside the television, not caring the consequences that would befall on her.

After they have reached the entrance of the world, they were engulfed in a bright white light, before falling down from the sky. Because it was their first time inside, the two landed very awkwardly, Minako landed on her butt, which was very painful, followed by Ryoji, who fell down onto her.

"Ouch, that hurts…"

Minako rubbed her wound before standing up and dashed away without caring for Ryoji. Ryoji had no time to recover as he had to follow Minako before he loses her in the other world that they had no clue about.

"That woman… She's doing something reckless!"

Catching up towards Minako, Ryoji saw that the world around them was very unusual. They found themselves in what seems to be a television studio. However, there was something wrong about the aura he was feeling when he entered this world. It was like telling him to break free from his shackles and let loose. He paid no heed to the temptation, and quickly followed Minako.

After ending up running for a while, they found themselves in the Shopping District, which was very strange as why it existed in this world. Finding a liquor store by the name of 'Konishi Liquor Store', they quickly entered the building and found Saki still being strangled in the neck, gasping for air. Minako wasted no time in taking out her evoker and aimed at her head while shouting,

"Orpheus!"

As the trigger was pulled and the gunshot was heard, the mechanical persona appeared behind Minako and quickly dashed towards the other Saki and whacked the harp onto her body. Feeling the pain, the other Saki let the real one go and turned towards them, letting out a frightening howl as she was enveloped in a black aura.

"What's happening?" Minako asked while distancing herself and Saki from the other one.

"Look out, it's a shadow! That shadow is a manifestation of Saki's real thoughts. The worse news is, we've just entered here in the worst possible time!"

"Why?"

"It's the time where the Shadows go berserk! There's nothing else we can do but run!"

"No way, are you serious?!"

Hearing this, the two of them quickly dashed out of the store with Saki carried by Ryoji. As they went farther away from the store, they could see many shadows chasing them. The shadows, taking the form of a wheel, were quickly approaching them. Realizing this, Minako stopped running and faced towards them while saying,

"I'll stall them. Hurry up and find us an exit!"

Standing there dumbfounded, Ryoji shook his head in reply and yelled,

"Don't you get it?! You have to survive, Minako! We've promised to get you your normal life back, right?!"

Holding the evoker on her right hand, Minako didn't say anything but aimed the evoker towards her head and whispered,

"Let us hope that all of us survive this night…"

Suddenly, the amulet that Ryoji had given to Minako glowed in a bright white light. Afterwards, Minako's body was enveloped by the same white light. Closing her eyes, Minako found herself deep inside her heart. Facing towards her in the dark space was a white haired girl clad in a black robe and a black ribbon tied to her hair. It looked like it was the first time they met each other; but actually, they had met several times before while Minako was still sealed inside the Great Seal.

"Y-You're…"

"We meet again, child. How is your new life now?" the girl, who was actually Nyx, said while her face was devoid of emotion.

"Well, it looks like it would be fun. However, I wished that I could return to the life I had with the members of SEES." Minako smiled in reply.

"Then, would you mind risking everything to get that life back?"

"Y-Yeah, I would." Minako nodded as she averted her gaze.

"…Alright, let me tell you how this amulet works. Picture yourself spending time with the person that you wish to see. If the bonds between the two of you are true, you will be able to use their powers as your own for a temporary time."

"Really? Wow that is one strong power."

"However, every power comes with a price. The question is, are you ready to risk everything just for your happiness?"

Finding herself enveloped in a white light again, she found herself right back into the battle. She held on to her amulet and reminisced the time when she was happily living with the other members of the SEES.

"The time I spent with my friends…"

_Thou art I…_

'This would be easy if Koromaru were here…'

_And I art thou…_

'His speed would be really great at times like this…'

_From the sea of thy soul, I come…_

"Cerberus!"

Suddenly, a howl was heard. A three headed beast appeared behind Minako as Ryoji looked on in awe. When looked closer, the beast was a three-headed dog which resembled a Doberman.

"No way, that's…!"

In reality, the beast was actually Koromaru's persona. Being a dog which was abandoned by his deceased master, he was picked up by the SEES and served as their household pet. Not only that, the dog had a high adaptability for battling and a peculiar ability to summon a persona. The persona was able to use fire spells to burn enemy shadows and even dark spells which could instantly kill a shadow. Because of this, he was highly regarded as one of the more reliable partners during Minako's journey through Tartarus.

Pointing her finger towards the wheel shaped shadows, she quickly issued a command the persona.

"Cerberus, Mamudoon!"

The beast heard her order and howled. A dark space was then formed beneath the shadows. A dark symbol then appeared on their bodies. When the symbol glowed brightly, most of the shadows were already gone. Though Mamudoon was one of the stronger skills which could kill a group of enemies, it had a relatively low chance to fail, causing the shadow to stay alive. Minako didn't mind this, and quickly charged in with her hockey stick.

The wheel shaped shadows saw this and decided to charge in altogether. One of the shadows was already close to Minako by the time she had entered her attacking range.

"No, Minako!"

However, as the shadow spun its body towards Minako, she quickly did a back step and dodged the attack. After successfully dodging the attack, she made sure to not stop it just there, and moved her body to the back of the shadow in a speed of light before landing her blow on the shadow, disabling it and followed with a few more hits until it died and dissipated into nothingness.

"This is like…"

Ryoji couldn't do anything but just stared in amazement. What Minako did was something that no ordinary human could do. Her movements looked like as if a beast was fighting.

"Koromaru is lending me power. The power to change the future!"

The battle continued with Minako killing the shadows one by one. But it looked like she couldn't hold on much longer. Remembering Minako's words, Ryoji left her alone and tried to find a way out in the vicinity.

After a while, Minako finished dispatching the shadows that were chasing them. However, it looked like more were coming for them, including Saki's shadow. At that time, Ryoji came back with a dejected look on his face.

"Well, can you find the exit?"

"…No, I can't find anything." Ryoji shook his head and averted his gaze.

"Then what about the portal? Can't we just cross that?"

"It's impossible. The only reason why we've been able to cross that portal is because that you have a persona while I am a shadow. Normal human beings can't cross this portal, as it would affect their sanity or even their lives."

"No way…"

Sighing dejectedly, Minako looked on as the shadows were fast approaching. Suddenly, they heard a voice behind them.

"Where… am I?"

They looked behind in surprise as Saki woke up from her unconsciousness. Seeing the two whom she met earlier, she was very shocked and asked,

"What are you two doing here?"

"No time. We're here to save you. Any plans, Ryoji?"

"There's nothing that I can think of…"

"Am I in danger?"

"Of course, we're in another world and a group of shadows, including yours, are trying to kill us." Minako replied in a serious tone.

"By the way, what were you doing here?"

Putting her hand on her head, Saki took a deep breath and said,

"I was walking home from work when I got dragged into the police station for questioning. Then, some detective who was questioning me suddenly approached me and wanted to touch me… I wanted to run and retaliated, but he got crazy and pushed into the television behind me. And that's how I got here, I think."

"No way. There's another persona user?!" Ryoji was shocked as he heard Saki's statement.

"Do you know what he looked like?"

"Well…"

Suddenly, they heard growling sound approaching not far from them. It looked like the shadows were already close by. Not wasting time, Ryoji quickly created the portal.

"Can we get out from this?" Saki asked as she saw the portal.

"No… Though the two of us can walk in and out freely, we can't guarantee your safety. There's a chance that when you come out of there, you won't be your usual self. Even worse, you might even get swallowed up by the darkness inside…"

Hearing this, Saki dropped down on her knees and replied,

"So, there's no way out for me, huh?"

"I'm really sorry."

At that time, Minako was the only one quiet as she held onto her hockey stick while the shadows were already seen close by.

"…Go on without me."

"Eh?!"

"Come on, you guys need to survive. I appreciate the thought of saving me. But, I can't have my two rescuers die just like that, right?"

"But if you die like this, it would be-"

"Just go! I'll be fine."

After looking at Saki's face, which was already full of tears, Ryoji couldn't help but grab Minako and headed towards the portal.

"…Any last words?"

"Yes. Tell my family that I love them. And to Hana-chan…"

Approaching him and whispering to him by the ear. Ryoji nodded in reply and entered the portal.

"I hope we'll see you again, senpai."

"Un, goodbye you guys."

As the portal closed, Saki was left alone in the other world. Looking at the pale yellow sky, she wiped her tears and smiled while mumbling,

"Thank you for everything, Dad, Mom, Naoki, Hana-chan…"

* * *

><p>When they arrived back in their room, silence filled the air. Nobody wanted to say anything. Minako just dropped her hockey stick and suddenly passed out. Ryoji was surprised and caught the unconscious Minako and carried her towards her bed. Looking at the amulet, he found something peculiar about it.<p>

"Did it have a crack when I received it?"

Not wanting to think about anything anymore, he just focused looking after Minako as the day ended.

* * *

><p>The next day, Minako still hasn't awoken. Ryoji had no choice but to leave for school without her. Along the way, he found Yukiko at the entrance of the school.<p>

"Oh, hello. Where's your cousin?"

"She had a fever and is resting. Don't worry, she'll recover soon."

"Is that so? Well then, glad to hear it. There's my class, I'll see you back in the inn."

Leaving him alone and entering the class, Ryoji was still deep in thought whether he should convey Saki's message.

'No, maybe she's still alive. I'll head back to the other world, and try to save her, if she's still alive…"

However, when the students were called for an announcement, Ryoji already knew what happened then.

As the headmaster stood up on the podium and coughed slightly. He adjusted his voice before delivering the news that would surprise everyone, especially Yosuke.

"I have received a bad news. One of our students, Saki Konishi, has recently passed away."


	12. Chapter 12: Preparations

On a foggy day at Yasogami High, a surprise announcement was made to the students and teaching staff. Everyone couldn't believe it, especially Yosuke.

Saki Konishi was found dead hanging upside down from an antenna pole earlier in the day.

The police ruled this as a killing and are trying a way to find the killer responsible for the incident. Everyone in the police force was mobilized and sent out to gather information. Up until now, they only thing that they knew was the placement of the body victim was exactly the same as the last victim, the former announcer Mayumi Yamano. However, there was little evidence they could gather and the investigation hadn't progressed even a little further.

As the assembly ended, the students were walking back to their respective classrooms. Ryoji was walking with Daisuke and Kou, two friends that he and Minako met while they transferred here. While the two of them were happily chatting, Ryoji on the other hand was lost in his thoughts as he tried to piece together what happened last night.

The last time he and Minako encountered Saki was during the attempt to save her inside the world on the other side of the television. They tried to help her escape only to find out there was no other way they could free her but by passing through the portal Ryoji created. But by doing so, Saki may lose her memories, or even her sanity if she passed that portal due to her not having a persona.

After they left Saki behind and went back, Minako eventually passed out from exhaustion. She had been tired fighting all of the shadows by herself and she used the power that Nyx gave her. Bearing witness to the pendant's power, Ryoji had also been thinking about its effects.

What he had seen at that time couldn't be forgotten that easily.

During the rescue attempt, Minako used the pendant's power and managed to summon Koromaru's Persona, Cerberus. Since Minako had been stripped away of her Wild Card powers, she couldn't use another Personae. However, Ryoji knew that it was impossible to call out another person's Persona, as a Persona resembles the person's true self.

"What could that power be?" he mumbled silently as he walked up the stairs to the second floor.

Arriving at the entrance of their classroom, Ryoji happened to found the trio of Yosuke, Yu and Chie talking at the entrance of their classroom. Signalling to the other two that he would return, he approached them silently without giving up his presence.

As he slowly approached them, he could hear the conversation between the trio. Wanting to know what they were talking about, he hid himself behind a pillar and eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Hey, did you guys check out the TV last night?"

Yosuke was the one who asked the question first as Ryoji began hearing what they have to say.

"Yosuke! Not you too!"

Chie was about to scold him, but he interrupted her and continued,

"Just listen to me! Something was bothering me, so I watched it again, and…"

He went silent for awhile before saying,

"I think that girl on the screen… was Saki-senpai."

Looking at the shocked faces of Yu and Chie, Ryoji couldn't help but continue eavesdropping on them.

"There's no mistaking it… Senpai looked like she was writhing in pain… And then, she disappeared from the screen…"

"Looks like the Midnight Channel was on again after we came back… I didn't notice it since I was taking care of Minako, but I didn't want to see what happens to her after we left her there…"

Ryoji looked down as he had a depressed face. He was still feeling guilty over what happened last night, when they left Saki behind and left the TV world by themselves.

"Well, do you remember about that guy who said that his soulmate was the announcer? I think Ms Yamano might have been on the Midnight Channel before she died too."

"Hold on, are you saying that…"

Chie was even more surprised after she had pieced together what Yosuke said.

"People who appear on that TV… die…?"

Ryoji just stood there, having learnt the truth earlier as they said that. From what Saki had said yesterday, he and Minako already knew that someone had been throwing people inside the TV. The people thrown inside would eventually die there and mysteriously come back to the real world, hanging by a telephone pole or a television antenna.

What was even worse was that, the person Saki has identified before she was thrown in happened to be, a cop.

Ryoji had been thinking all day yesterday after having learnt what happened. After piecing together the evidence, he found out that the cop who was throwing the victims inside the TV was undoubtedly, a persona user.

He established that connection after knowing that only Persona users can go inside the TV world.

Being lost in thought for a while, he didn't hear what they said after that. But when he focused on their conversation again,

"Yeah… I'm thinking about going in again. I want to find out for myself."

"No way, he's a Persona user too?!"

Ryoji was shocked by what he said, but after calming himself down, he continued listening,

"Don't do this. We should let the police handle this and-"

"You think we can rely on the police?! They haven't made any progress on the announcer's case! Besides, even if we tell them about the world inside the TV, there's no way they're going to believe us!"

Yosuke retorted angrily, which led Chie to stop speaking for a while.

"After what I've seen and put together, I just can't let this slide. I have to know why Senpai had to die like this."

Looking towards Yu, he continued,

"Listen, you're the only one I can rely on. I'm going to get ready. I'll be waiting for you at Junes."

After saying this, he quickly dashed off, leaving the two of them by themselves even though school was still ongoing. Ryoji had no need to listen on them any further and also left for the inn, hoping that Minako would wake up at this time.

Meanwhile, at the inn, Minako was still fast asleep, her neck holding the amulet which was mysteriously cracked.

"Koromaru…"

Inside her mind, she found herself in a room which she was familiar of. It was her old room at the dormitory she stayed at with the other SEES members. The dormitory which she called her home.

As she was sitting on her bed, she could see a white and furry Shiba Inu sleeping on the floor. It was wearing a white T-shirt with white wings on its back. It also had a metallic collar and an armband with the words 'SEES' on it.

"Hello there, Koromaru."

As she called it, the dog, named Koromaru, woke up and barked happily in response. Minako stood up and approached the dog and hugged it before grooming its fur.

"It's been so long since I touched your fur. It's still as fluffy as I thought."

After petting him for a while, Minako suddenly stopped. She had tears in her eyes as she caressed it, saying,

"I'm sorry, looks like I have to pay the price for using that power…"

Koromaru saw her crying and tried to cheer her up by rubbing its fur through her hand. Minako saw this as a gesture of consoling her and replied,

"Thank you, you always know how to cheer someone up."

Koromaru then barked in response. Minako stood up again and headed for the door. Opening the door, she found herself enveloped in a bright white light. As she entered that bright white light, she looked back towards Koromaru and muttered,

"I hope to see you again, in the dear future…"

"Minako… Minako! Wake up!"

Opening her eyes, she could see Ryoji sitting beside her. Looking at him, she muttered while yawning,

"Hi there, Ryoji…"

"Thank goodness you are alright. I was worried there when you fell unconscious last night."

"Last night? Oh yeah, that time where we left…"

Realizing what happened last night, she quickly asked,

"What happened to her?!"

Ryoji merely shook his head in response. Minako knew this and grew depressed.

"There was nothing we could do. If she had passed that portal, she wouldn't be the same as she was. The only thing we can do now, is to try and get your old life back."

"Yeah, you're right…"

After sitting on her futon for a while, she was lost in thought about how to try and free herself from being the seal. As soon she thought about Yu, she asked Ryoji about his whereabouts.

"Well…"

Listening to Ryoji's reply, she immediately knew something was wrong.

"Where is he?"

"He's going to the TV world now, with Yosuke. They knew that Konishi-senpai died there and are investigating the cause of it."

Hearing about the situation, Minako quickly stood up and gathered her belongings before going to battle. Ryoji knew this and couldn't do anything but follow her. He had already known Minako's personality and judging by her sense of urge to save them, he had no choice but to go with her to the TV world and save them from dying like Saki if possible.

As soon as they opened the door, they found Kasai waiting for them.

"There you are! I'm sorry but the inn is very crowded. Can I count on both of you to help with the inn?"

Minako just couldn't say no to Kasai's request, but she had to get away from her and go to their aid as soon as possible. Bowing down to her and doing an apologetic pose, she replied,

"We're sorry but something has gone through. We'll make it back as soon as possible. I'm really sorry!"

Minako quickly dashed away from Kasai, with Ryoji also apologizing to her before following her. Kasai couldn't help but sigh as she went back to her job.

While leaving the inn, Ryoji asked Minako about her plans.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"We'll get some weapons and items first. We have already known that the shadows there pack quite a punch. We'll need some healing items to sustain ourselves during battle too."

"Alright then, I'll make us a portal so we can get to the weapon store fast."

As soon as he said that, a portal suddenly appeared in front of them and they quickly went in. After wandering in there for a while, they found themselves at the back of Daidara's Armory.

Entering the shop, they could see Daidara polishing up a metal gauntlet as he hollered,

"Oh, nice to see you again, young lady! What can I do for you this time?"

"I want you to make a weapon using this."

Minako took out a rare metal that had an unusual glow. Daidara looked at it for a while and replied,

"Of course. I'll tell you when it's done. By the way, this metal is really good stuff. I'm surprised on where you got your hands on it."

"It's a secret."

After looking at her for a while, Daidara merely shook his head and placed the metal elsewhere before continuing,

"So, you have anything else you want?"

"Actually, I need some armor that can hide my identity. Do you have anything like that?"

"Of course! Wait here."

After walking to the back of his shop for a while, he returned with a box and said,

"Here, this should keep your identity in check."

Minako opened the box and checked the contents inside, only to feel embarrassed about having to wear the items inside it.

"T-These are the clothes you say that will keep my identity a secret?"

"I guarantee it!"

"Well, looks like I've got nothing to lose then. I'll take it."

Handing the money over Daidara, he laughed heartily and thanked her.

"Well then, good luck, young lady!"

As they left Daidara's shop, Ryoji laughed a little and quickly commented on the things inside the box.

"I wonder what will happen if they saw you wearing it? Or better yet, what if the other guys see you in that?"

"S-Shut up! We all had worn such outfits when we were exploring Tartarus. Though it may be a little… different, but they helped us a lot on our battles!"

"Alright, I'll stop laughing. Now let's go."

Opening the portal, they quickly went to the TV world, hoping to save their friends from an unlikely doom…


	13. Chapter 13: A Savior Arrives

"So this is the place where Saki-senpai died…"

Yosuke, Yu and their partner in the TV world, Teddie arrived at the Konishi Liquor Store at the Shopping District of the other world. The two came here in hopes of learning about Saki's death. But right before they decided to enter…

"Be careful, guys! I'm sensing shadows here!"

As Teddie gave his warning, two goo-like substances with masks appeared from inside the store, levitating themselves up in the air as they hardened into a ball-like shape. As the shape began to form, stripes could be seen all over their bodies. When they turned their masks behind, large mouths could be seen, opening as they looked like they had decided their meal.

"W-what should we do?!"

As Teddie and Yosuke panicked, Yu could hear a voice inside his head.

"I am thou…"

As Yu looked towards the two large creatures, the voice in his head continued to speak.

"Thou art I…"

"What is this?"

As Yu grabbed his head in pain, a velvet blue flame suddenly appeared in front of him, with a card spinning by itself inside without burning into a crisp.

"From the sea of thy soul, I come…"

Yu's instinct suddenly told him to grab hold of the card in front of him. Believing himself, he grabbed the card by his right hand.

"Per…so…na…"

Realizing that there wasn't any pain, he closed his palm with all of his force and crushed the card. An aura then formed, and the other two stood there in awe as another being wearing a school uniform and holding a giant sword appeared…

Meanwhile, at a place not so far away…

"I'm changing, so no peeking, okay?"

"All right…"

A few blocks behind the Shopping District in the TV world, Ryoji was covering Minako's body using his back as she tried on her costume. Since she doesn't want Yu and Yosuke to know her identity, she bought a costume just to disguise herself. Although when Minako saw the costume, she was a bit flustered about wearing that same costume.

While he was looking away, Ryoji happened to see a familiar aura from nearby. Realizing that Yu had just awoken to his Persona, he rushed Minako to get ready.

"I'm trying! It's hard wearing this costume, you know?"

"Come on, what hard could it be wearing that…"

As Ryoji turned around instinctively, he happened to catch a glimpse of Minako zipping the back of her costume. Since it was not completely zipped, the cleavage could be seen from her body, prompting Ryoji to space out for a moment before realizing what he was about to receive.

"No, peeking!"

A hard straight punch was quickly thrown by Minako and landed into Ryoji's face. Not wanting to feel that same pain again, Ryoji hurriedly turned back and waited until Minako gave the signal to look back.

Once he did, he couldn't help but smirk at the costume she was wearing.

"Nice… costume, ahaha…"

What Minako wore was unexpectedly, a Neo Featherman costume. It was from one the tokusatsu shows that Ken loved to see. She was wearing the costume for Neo Pink, the pink ranger for the team. Donned in a pink suit with the Featherman symbol on her chest, complete with the gun and other weapons on the back of her costume, it actually made good use for just a costume.

"I wonder what would happen if the others see this, especially Yukari…"

"Come on, it actually looks good on you."

She could imagine Yukari laughing at her, commenting that the costume looked pretty hilarious. But, it was no time to make jokes, as she was here just to save the two classmates who entered into the TV world without any knowledge of it.

"Let's go. By the way, how are you going to disguise yourself?"

"Easy, like this."

Pulling out a paper bag from his pocket, he made two holes and wore them on his head.

After looking for a while, everyone would have thought that it was a stalker stalking Neo Pink. Minako sighed and pulled out something from the box.

"Here, I think this suits you better."

Handing Ryoji a mask from one of the minions in Neo Featherman, Ryoji took out the paper bag and wore the mask instead. Though it hid his face, Minako thought that the disguise could improve.

"By the way, could you keep the scarf? You'll be noticed in no time if you wore that around."

"… Sure."

Handing over the yellow scarf that he loved, they were finally ready to head out. As they exited from the back alley, they could find Shadows lurking around the shop. Since Yu and Yosuke had dispatched the Shadows they met, they had already gone in.

Readying her hockey stick, she quickly ran towards the shop, with Ryoji using a metal ruler to fight for himself. As the Shadows saw them and rushed in for the kill, they evaded their attacks and countered them with strikes of their own. Since both of them were already strong, the Shadows were killed in just a hit. After seeing their companions dead without a trace, the other Shadows were scared of going up against them and ran away, forming a way for the entrance.

As soon as they entered the store, what they saw was a complete surprise.

"W-Wait, why are there two Yosukes?!"

Alongside Yu and Teddie whom they have never met stood two Yosukes standing on each side; one with the two of them while the other one was alone. One of them was wearing glasses while the other was not wearing anything. Yet, the one who was alone had an evil aura emanating from him as he gazed at his other self with pale yellow eyes and a contempt smile on his face. The Yosuke together with Yu and Teddie appeared conflicted, his body shaking from fear.

"Hahaha… Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!"

"What are you saying…? That's not true, I-"

"Looks like we have an imposter on our hands."

While all of them were distracted, Minako and Ryoji hid behind a wine barrel, not wanting to make their presence known. Minako calmly analyzed the situation at hand based on what happened the last time something like this happened.

"It's the same as Konishi-senpai…"

"Then that means… It's a Shadow, right?"

Minako nodded her head in reply. Meanwhile, Yosuke was trying to keep himself calm while enduring the taunts from his shadow self.

"Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe… I do know everything you're thinking! Why's that…? Because, I AM you!"

"This is getting out of hand…"

They could only stand there and watch idly, while trying to gather information on hand. They didn't know what they were up against, and if it goes on, they may have to face the same thing as the time when they tried to save Saki.

"You just came because it sounded like a good time! What else is there to so in this shithole? A world inside the TV… Now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you?!"

"That's not true… Stop… Stop it…"

Yosuke was about to have a mental breakdown. He was about to go crazy from what his other self told him.

"You're just trying to act like a big shot! If all went well, hey, you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on, that death was the perfect excuse!"

They couldn't believe what the other Yosuke just said. The Yosuke, who had a crush on Saki, would take advantage for her death just to act hero.

"This is getting out of hand, we have to help him!"

Ryoji was about to jump out from the barrel but was stopped by Minako.

"Wait for a while, let's see what happens first."

Minako couldn't afford to make any mistakes here. If they just charge head on, they might miss any crucial information and be at a disadvantage. Unless the other Yosuke acts first, she couldn't jump out and do anything.

However, Yosuke already lost his cool upon hearing what the other Yosuke said.

"That's not true! Who are you… Who are you!?"

The other Yosuke merely chuckled and replied,

"I already told ya. I'm you… Your shadow… There's nothing I don't know about you!"

Yosuke snapped back as he heard his other self's words.

"Screw that, I don't know you! You can't be me, you son of a bitch!"

As soon as he said that, the other Yosuke started laughing hysterically.

"Ahahaha! That's right, say it again!"

"You can't be me… You're nothing like me!"

"Yeah, that's right… I am ME now. I'm not you anymore, see!"

After finishing his sentence, the other Yosuke was enveloped in a bright white light. Yosuke was astonished as he saw his other self turn into a giant monster. A giant black being with large yellow gloves and a big red scarf was seen coming out from the light. At the bottom of Shadow Yosuke was a huge frog with an evil smile on all four legs. Yosuke couldn't stand the sight of it and fainted, leaving Yu and Teddie to fend for themselves.

"So, that was how the other Saki turned into a large Shadow…"

Minako was lost in thought comparing what happened with Saki and what was happening now with Yosuke. Though they never saw the confrontation between Saki and her other self, but she guessed that the same thing might have happened with Saki. While Yu was engaged in battle, Ryoji tried to snap Minako back into reality as she continued squatting behind the barrel, thinking.

"Minako, wake up! They're fighting right now!"

"Huh?"

Finally back into reality, Minako saw Yu calmly swinging his golf club as he managed to hit Shadow Yosuke. However, the Shadow didn't flinch and fought back, causing Yu to take damage. When that didn't work out, Yu summoned his Persona, Izanagi to call out numerous lightning bolts to shock the Shadow. This time, the lightning managed to have an effect on it as it fell down after being struck.

"Sensei, looks like lightning is its weakness. Now take him down!"

"All right."

The bear-like being, Teddie proceeded to cheer Yu on despite not fighting alongside him. Minako thought that it was finally the perfect chance to go out. Using the barrel she hid behind, she stood on top of it and boldly declared her presence.

"Evildoer!"

The two who were fighting stopped and looked towards Minako with a surprised look on their faces. Ryoji knew she was trying to hide her identity, but she was being a little bit too enthusiastic about this. Not minding that, he also came out of hiding and pointing his finger towards the Shadow.

"We have appeared from the sky to inflict judgment upon our enemies!

Ryoji also tried to play the part of the minion of the evil forces on Neo Featherman, but has defected to the good guys' side.

"Neo Pink!"

"Um… Evil minion!"

"We are Neo Featherman!"

As they struck their heroic poses, the rest could only look at them dumbfounded at what they were doing.

"What the hell are you dumbasses doing?"

Shadow Yosuke was the first to speak at this nonsense. Minako replied with the hockey stick on her hand with an energetic tone.

"Punishing every evildoer on the planet!"

Yu just remained silent but had already readied his golf club, as if he had acknowledged the help. Minako also readied her hockey and quickly charged in, prompting Shadow Yosuke to retaliate. Though it was the first one to pull its punches, Minako could still dodge it easily and countered it with a blow.

"Feather Slash!"

When struck by Minako's hockey stick, the Shadow screamed in pain and fell down.

"That hurts, damn it!"

"Wow, that girl sure is powerful…"

Teddie was amazed by what Minako could do. Even Yu opened his mouth in amazement as he continued his attack. Ryoji went silent as well and coordinated with Minako's attacks one by one as the battle continued. The Shadow didn't stand a chance as it endured the attacks one by one while trying to land a hit on its own, but to no avail.

"This is… the end!"

Yu said that as he hit the Shadow with a horizontal strike. The Shadow screamed and finally began to fade in darkness. Realizing their work was done, Minako decided to leave and ran away while bidding farewell to them.

"Looks like this is farewell! We will meet again!"

"Wait... They're gone…"

"They're strong, Sensei! I wonder if we will meet them again…"

"We will."

After watching them disappear from their sight, Yu focused on waking Yosuke up from unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, Minako and Ryoji who were running from them eventually stopped after running for a fair distance.

"Phew, that was fun."

"That was embarrassing…"

Ryoji retorted back as he tried to regain his breath. Minako took off her helmet, revealing her red and flustered face after what happened back there.

"Come on, at least he doesn't know who we are."

"Well, looks like we're going to do this every time we meet them…"

"It'll be fun!"

Seeing Minako stretching herself, Ryoji couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of meeting them again using these costumes. Making a portal, he signaled Minako to go back.

"Let's hurry, we have to help Kasai-san. Then inn must be crowded by now."

"You're right. Let's go."

Meanwhile, as Yosuke received his own Persona by overcoming his past self, he slumped to his knees, prompting Yu to help him.

"Thanks, partner. By the way, how did you defeat my other self?"

"Um… Neo Featherman…"

"What's that?"

"It's nothing…"

As expected, this kind of answer would surprise anyone if they didn't see what happened in the fight. However, Yu acknowledged that the two people in costumes were very powerful, as he was struggling against the Shadow before they arrived.

In his mind though, there was a familiar feeling like they had met with each other.

"Was that my imagination? Have I met them before…?"

When Ryoji and Minako returned to the inn, Kasai had a relieved on her look on her face as she thanked them for coming back as fast as they could. Wearing their work uniforms, they returned to work as usual.

After a while, they were finished with their work. Returning to their rooms, they discussed what happened while they were in the TV world.

"So, from Konishi-san's words, it would be safe to assume that the victims died when they entered the TV right?"

Minako sat down with a cup of green tea on her hands as she sipped it. Ryoji replied as he continued to serve her green tea.

"Yeah. But I think there must be a condition for them to die. When we fought with Shadow Yosuke, it looked like as he had a consciousness of his own. Unlike the shadow version of Saki we had seen."

"Hmm… Did you remember what happened when we rushed inside the TV world after we saw the Midnight Channel?"

"Well… I remembered the sky being foggy as the Midnight Channel started…"

Finally figuring things out, Ryoji stood up after realizing something important.

"I know! They die when the sky turns foggy and the Midnight Channel starts."

"So that means we have to save anyone trapped in there before the fog comes and he or she dies."

"Wow, you have good observation skills, Minako."

"It's due to Mitsuru-senpai and Fuuka teaching me how to analyze everything from little details."

"By the way, it was really cool when you suddenly summoned another Persona during the battle. Was that Koromaru's Persona?"

As Ryoji said that, Minako had a dumbfounded look on his face as he asked Ryoji something that shocked Ryoji.

"Who's Koromaru?"

* * *

><p><em>Thanks everyone for taking care of me. I've been receiving mails from you guys, advising me on how to improve my story. Though my writing kinda sucks, I was relieved that you guys are still supporting this story. Anyway, thanks!<em>


	14. Chapter 14: Dancing With Flies

"Huff… Huff…"

The rough breathing coming from him, running after finding out about the truth, Ryoji decided to seek out the one behind this mess.

Running through the portal that he created, he dashed through the dark space, only focusing what was in front of him. As he ran, he held the amulet Minako was holding.

It was a supposedly a gift given to her by Ryoji, an item used in helping her throughout her journey. After finding out the effects though, Ryoji decided that it would be a risk having this item with her anymore.

The amulet had the power to convert one's memories and summon the Persona of the one that was focused in those memories. The Persona reflects the strength of the user's memories; the stronger the bond between that person and her, the stronger the Persona.

However, that strong power had a terrifying price to pay.

In exchange for using the Persona, the memories of the ones she had used in the making of the Persona disappear. This had happened in Minako's case; she used the power to summon Koromaru's Persona, Cerberus. But in return, she lost the power to summon it again, as well as memories of her and Koromaru.

Minako didn't seem to realize the loss of her memories, but Ryoji who knew that they had a deep bond was anguished by the thought of losing someone dear to her.

In order to find out how to reverse the effects, he waited for Minako to sleep before seeking out the one who gave him the amulet; Nyx.

Soon as he arrived at the destination, he saw a girl just staring at the black space. She didn't seem to move, but she had noticed Ryoji's presence and spoke with a melancholic voice.

"Is it you, my child?"

The girl, who had white and long hair, sported a long black robe and had a ribbon tied to her hair. That person was Ryoji's "mother", Nyx.

"Yes. I have something to ask you."

After regaining his breath, Ryoji showed the amulet to Nyx, which had a crack on the middle. He shouted with anger,

"Why didn't you tell me about this!? I wanted to help her, but in turn I made her lose the memories of the ones she loved!"

"There is no choice. This is the path she chose. She didn't have any regrets when using it." she replied.

"How do you know about that? You weren't even there!" Ryoji retorted.

"I was in her subconscious when she activated the amulet for the first time. I warned her of the risks, yet she chose to use it and didn't falter. "

She then turned around to Ryoji, her lonely eyes gazing towards his.

"By the way, this is the first time I saw you shouting at me like this. You've changed since I created you. You're now capable of trusting others and aid them in times of need."

Ryoji had nothing to say as she continued talking.

"Aid her, and protect her when the time arises. Only you can do it, my son…"

After that, Ryoji left the dark space without a word. However, tears can be seen trickling through his eyes as he walked back to the inn.

The day soon passed and they went to school normally, putting the memories of the yesterday behind. When they arrived, they were greeting by the voices of Daisuke and Kou as they sat down on their respective seats.

Their time in school was very peaceful, as they listened to the lecture, ate lunch together and went through class until it was time to go home. They had to go back to the inn as soon as possible because they found out that the inn was very busy today. Yukiko had to help out and was absent, while Kasai asked them to help out as soon as they were done with school.

They agreed to help, and were now busying handling customers and doing chores around the inn. It was busier than usual, and they had no time to rest as the customers poured in. It would continue on until the late evening where they had time to rest.

Sitting down on the lobby couch, they released a sigh of relief as Yukiko handed them towels for them to wipe down their sweat.

"Thank you, Yukiko-san." Ryoji thanked her, accepting the towel as he grabbed the bottle of water in front of him to drink.

"Wow, you're really good at this stuff. We are already tired and you could still go on." Minako complimented her, letting the fan above her cool her down as she rested.

"It's nothing. I've been used to handle days like this, so it's not a problem for me." Yukiko smiled.

"But still, it's so amazing. As expected from the manager's daughter."

As soon as Ryoji said that, Yukiko's smile turned into a frown, but Ryoji and Minako didn't seem to notice the change in her facial expression as they were focused on resting.

"Well, I've got to go back to work. You guys can rest now if you want."

""Thank you!""

Yukiko then left them alone. However, the duo had no time to rest as they went back to their room to prepare themselves for another journey. On the way to their rooms, they could hear a doorbell ringing on the back of the inn. They were about to answer the door, but Yukiko stepped in and said,

"I'll handle this. You two relax in your rooms, okay?"

Minding Yukiko's words, they continued walking back to their rooms and changed into their school uniforms.

Creating a portal, Ryoji took the chance to say something to Minako.

"I want us to explore Tartarus today, if that's okay with you."

"Huh? That's okay, but why?" Minako asked, puzzled about the decision.

"I want to check something out for myself, as well as checking the status of the seal."

"All right then, let's go."

After wandering around the portal that was created by Ryoji, they finally arrived at the top of Tartarus. Everything still remained the same after their departure a few days ago. The Great Seal was in front of them, and on the door was a statue of Theodore wrapped around in chains.

"I wonder how Theo is doing?" Minako asked, saddened by the thought that he sacrificed his own body to become the seal.

"He's doing fine. He's still holding on, making sure that the seal doesn't get broken." Ryoji answered after placing his hand on the door.

Looking at their surroundings, the pale green sky and the bright yellow moon were still there. Since this was a realm completely different from theirs, the time in this world has become standstill. They would return to the inn the exact same time they had left, so it functioned as a great training ground for Minako.

"Alright then, we're done here. By the way, Minako…"

"Hmm? What's the matter, Ryoji? You look kind of sad today."

"I want to answer me honestly. Do you remember a dog accompanying you on your journey to Tartarus?" Ryoji asked, wanting to know if the memories of Koromaru had been completely erased from Minako's mind.

"…I'm sorry, Ryoji, but I don't know what you are talking about. I have never heard of animals possessing the power of Persona. The only closest thing I know is that I did play with dogs when I was walking home from school…" Minako fidgeted, her eyes gazing at the sky.

"I-I see…"

Ryoji had already thought about that the possibility of recover her memories may be next to zero, but he wanted to know if there was a slight chance that not all of them had been erased. Since Minako didn't give a definite answer, he would have to ask her more about Koromaru.

"Well then, Minako…"

"Pardon me for my intrusion."

As a mysterious voice ringed out, the buzzing of flies could be heard. Ryoji panicked at the sound of someone approaching, while Minako checked around her surroundings to see if there were any suspicious individuals lurking about.

"Let me introduce myself."

As soon as the mysterious voice said that, flies suddenly flew in a swarm, approaching the both of them. After that, the flies began to form a shape, changing them into a single entity; a large fly with skulls engraved on the wings on its back. Another noticeable thing was that it was holding a skull-shaped staff.

"No way, it's Beelzebub!" Minako gasped as she saw the hideous fly standing there before her eyes.

She knew the name of that fly because she happened to summon it as a Persona during her journey. Because she lost her power of the wild card, she couldn't summon it again. However, it was more surprising to find the actual one standing in front of them.

"B-But aren't you?"

"Ah yes. Looks like you have summoned me before, as one of your 'Persona'. Am I right?" the fly replied, its buzzing voice echoing throughout the floor.

"You don't look surprised." Ryoji said, his body forming a stance as he placed his body in front of Minako as a sign of protecting her.

"Alas, this was the work of that person. Recording our appearances and abilities and storing them as a form of power was his job."

"You mean Philemon?" Minako replied, shocked at the truth she just learned.

"Yes. He made contact with every being he knew and recorded it into his 'book', or the Compendium. Because of his efforts, almost every human had the ability to use our powers. What a troubling man he is…"

Beelzebub continued his explanation of Persona and the history of them, with Minako listening intently. However, Ryoji cut off his words and said,

"This isn't what you same here for, is it?"

"Hmm, you're very observant. You should know why I came here, right?"

"Yeah, and I'm not going to hand her over to you."

Ryoji then pulled out a sword from behind. Beelzebub made a hissing sound as he raised his staff.

"Well then, by the order of Lucifer, time for me to carry out my duties!"

Pillars of ice began to form after the staff on Beelzebub's hand emitted a strange light. It was one of the highest ice-based spell, Mabufudyne.

As Beelzebub swung his staff downwards, the pillars of ice began to drop towards Ryoji. With Minako still dazed, Ryoji readied his sword and slashed every ice with quick and deadly precision.

Beelzebub clapped his hands as he complimented Ryoji.

"Oh, that was very nice. As expected from Thanatos, Nyx's creation."

The battle then continued with Ryoji defending all of Beelzebub's attacks while Minako stood behind him and watched. She wanted to help, but Ryoji forbid her from involving herself in the fight.

"Are you sure that you don't need another helping hand?" Beelzebub taunted his two large red eyes fixated on Minako as he continued to summon countless ice pillars at Ryoji.

"No, I alone am enough to defeat you!" Ryoji yelled, his will to fight increasing over the duration of the battle.

Slashing towards the ice pillars, Beelzebub realized that this fight was going at a standstill. To tip the scales in his favor, he quickly raised his staff and aimed at Minako before saying,

"I have no time for games. Let's finish this quickly."

Thousands of flies then flew around Beelzebub. As he swung down his staff, the flies began to do their master's bidding, flying towards Minako with a dark and menacing aura.

"Minako, look out!"

As the ice pillars stopped forming, Ryoji hurried to Minako's side and hugged her, shielding her from the attack of the flies. Beelzebub's attacks seem to be successful, as the flies exploded one by one when in contact with Ryoji's body.

Even though Ryoji is suffering from the pain, Minako was safe from the attack.

As the flies subsided, Ryoji couldn't handle the pain and fell down, his clothes tattered and wounds present on his body. Minako who was in front of him couldn't believe her eyes as she watched him fall as he protected her.

"T-This is my resolve, to protect her no matter what happens…" Ryoji muttered as he faded into unconsciousness.

Tears began to flow from Minako's eyes. At that point, a blue fog appeared around her body. Her hand had already reached for her Evoker and aimed it at her head before looking towards Beelzebub and glared,

"I won't forgive you. I won't let you hurt anyone again!"

As she pulled the trigger, a loud bang was heard. Her Persona, Orpheus then appeared behind her, readying its lyre as it prepared for battle. Beelzebub merely hissed as he said,

"Very well. Give it your all then!"

Beelzebub then used one of his ultimate attacks, summoning flies and ordering them to Minako. Minako merely stood there, unfazed as she saw the flies swarming towards her.

"Let me tell you this, young lady. You had best give up now when you can. These flies are no ordinary flies. They have an ability to kill anyone who doesn't have any resistance to death. Unlike Thanatos there, you'll probably be dead in a matter of seconds."

"I would like to see you try then!"

As the flies exploded one by one, Minako suffered damage as the flies landed on her body. However, as the dust caused by the explosion settled, Minako was still there, only her clothes tattered as she charged forward with her hockey stick.

"It can't be?! How could she be resistant to death?"

"Here it goes!"

As soon as she arrived at the attacking range, she quickly swung her hockey stick, striking the fly's body. Beelzebub fell back as he touched his wound. For him, it was a fortunate that the weapon she was holding was a blunt one, or he would have suffered a lot of damage.

"This young lady is strong. Her moves and speed are on par with one of the Generals. I was more impressed with her speed; no ordinary human could have achieved those quick movements." Beelzebub thought, raising his staff to call forth ice pillars towards her.

Minako anticipated this and gave her orders to Orpheus.

"Maragidyne, Orpheus!"

Heeding its orders, Orpheus swung its lyre and out came forth huge flames which enveloped the pillars one by one and melted them.

"Impressive…"

Finding victory a bit hard to achieve, Beelzebub finally stopped his attacks, leaving Minako to breathe heavily after the long hard fought battle.

"You have shown me great potential. It seems that coming here was fate."

"What are you talking about?" Minako asked, her breathing still heavy from the battle.

"You have shown me that you can withstand a battle, even from me, my Lord's right-hand man. In truth, I have come here not on his order, but by my own accord."

Afterwards, he shouted towards the sky, his hissing echoed throughout the floor. As soon as he did that, everyone who was injured, was quickly recovered, leaving no scars or bleeding. This was one of Beelzebub's skills, Victory Cry, which had the power to restore anyone to his or her fullest.

"I have come here to prevent The Fall, as you can see. Though my Lord wishes for the destruction of mankind, I have a deep interest as to how you humans react. Your wills and desires; that is what I have come to long for. If The Fall happens, everything I have longed for will be destroyed."

As he continued, his fly from began to dissipate, leaving a human with a long and shaggy hair, wearing a black suit and carrying his skull-shaped staff.

"The war to activate The Fall had been going on for years, with us fighting to see who gets a hold of Nyx. Sadly, this ended with a long run of casualties. Because of this, a truce was made. The war would not continue, until the seal is lost. That was two years ago."

"Two years ago? You mean that…"

"Yes, the day when you voluntarily become Nyx's seal. You were the one who prevented the battle between the two forces. However, peace was not for long. Our forces detect a slight drop in the seal's power a few days ago. That was when we knew that something had happened to the seal."

Minako couldn't say a word about this as she listened to the whole story. Ryoji unfortunately was still passed out as Beelzebub continues his story.

"Since the seal wasn't undone, the truce was still in effect. However, that doesn't mean that spying was not allowed. The Lord sent me an order to find out the cause of the seal's drop in power, and I have been lying in wait for a long time, waiting for you to show up."

"So then, that means the Angels knew about it too?"

"I believe so. However, they haven't dispatched anyone here. It is most likely that they already knew your whereabouts and are lying in wait to capture you. As you may know, your power is the only thing that is affecting the seal. If either one of the two forces takes your power and breaks the seal, then the Fall would ascend upon your world in due time."

"I have a question. Why are you guys fighting, despite having the same goals?"

"We have different philosophies. The Angels wanted to recreate the world, ridding the world of any sins. We, the Devils, wish for it to be run by our kind. Now you know my reason for keeping this meeting a secret, do you?"

Minako nodded his head in agreement. Beelzebub smiled and turned away, creating a portal for him to enter.

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave then. Be sure to stay alive and not get caught. The two forces will stop at nothing to capture you."

As he stepped inside the portal, he stopped for a while and gave Minako one last warning.

"Be careful of Loius Cyphre."

Afterwards, the portal closed, leaving Minako and Ryoji alone. It was that time when Ryoji began to regain consciousness. Finding Minako standing in front of him, staring at the seal, he began to ask about the battle then went on while he was out.

"Did he escape?"

"Yeah, sort of." Minako answered halfheartedly. "Listen, are you sure that leaving the seal was a good idea?"

"Of course. You were never a part of this. It is my responsibility to see that you get your normal life is back." Ryoji said, pumping his chest.

"Is that so…"

Creating the portal to the way home, the duo left Tartarus, with Minako thinking about herself and battle between the two forces on her way home.

Meanwhile, at the Demon World…

"I have regretted to inform you that my investigation has failed. It looks like the Angels have sent their reconnaissance forces as well. I could only dispatch a few of them before returning here."

"I see… Well then, good work."

Beelzebub was kneeling down as he was facing towards one of the kings of the Demons, Lucifer. A being with pale blue skin, yellow hair and crimson red eyes, he sat at his throne, hearing the reports of his subordinates.

"It seems that the seal has gone out in hiding. I wonder how we should proceed with all of this…" he said, resting his head by his hand.

"May I request to keep watch over her in case the Angels decide to capture her?"

"Request granted. I want you to keep those annoying beings away from her. I will have a meeting with the others to discuss about what to do with her."

"As expected of my Lord. You always use a more peaceful method, unlike those Angels."

"I expect her to break the seal by her own accord. Even if she doesn't comply with our methods, she will break the seal sometime or later."

"Yes, my Lord."

At the Amagi Inn, Minako fell down on her futon as soon as they arrived at their room. Even though Beelzebub restored their strength, she still felt tired from going to Tartarus. Ryoji couldn't blame her and asked about the battle.

"Did you use the power?" Ryoji frowned, sitting behind her as she got back on her feet.

"No. I don't why, but I've seem to gain a new power during the battle. I never realized that I could use Maragidyne as Orpheus, and my body seems to be lighter than usual." Minako replied, holding the amulet on her neck.

"I see... Well then, let's hope we don't meet up with another one. If worst comes to worst, we might even have to consider using him as a scapegoat…"

Minako frowned at the thought of using Yu as a sacrifice. She knew that using others was a dirty tactic, and others would hate her for that. However, her desire to be with her friends again seemed to overcome her thoughts of saving everyone.

She knew that sooner or later, this charade would have to end. This was the only chance of meeting her friends, but she couldn't risk destroying the world just for her desires. And for that, she wanted to find another way to keep the seal intact.

While the atmosphere went silent, it was completely interrupted by the fact that they heard a static sound from the living room. Hurrying towards the living room, they found the television open despite it being switched off.

"The Midnight Channel! I forgot that it would be on, with all the raining outside." Ryoji said, looking outside at the raining sky.

"The picture is coming into focus…"

After a while, the screen became clear. What they saw next was however, a shocking sight.

"No way?!"

"Yukiko!?"


	15. Chapter 15: Meeting The Bear

"Why is Yukiko on the Midnight Channel?!"

Minako and Ryoji were both looking towards the television which showed a picture of Yukiko, wearing a pink dress while holding a microphone. However, both of them seemed to notice that the color of her eyes was pale yellow, completely different from the brown pupils they saw every day.

"…It's her Shadow." Ryoji said, after finding out that the Yukiko inside the screen was different from whom they met at the inn.

Standing in front of an old castle, Shadow Yukiko held the microphone close to her mouth with both of her hands and greeted with a cheerful attitude.

"Hello, viewers! Today I, Yukiko Amagi, am about to embark on a long journey to meet my one and only prince!"

With the camera panning close to her breasts and the bottom part of her dress, she continued her hosting with Ryoji looking on in awe.

"I've got my lacey unmentionables from top to bottom! Let's see if I can score a hot stud, shall we?"

Turning towards the castle, she held her dress up and ran towards inside. The screen then closed itself, signaling the end of the Midnight Channel for today.

"Well… That was a bit surprising…" Ryoji muttered, averting her eyes away from Minako, who seem to have noticed Ryoji's thoughts while looking at the scantily clad Yukiko.

"We've got to go save her!" Minako said, walking towards the television screen and readying herself to get inside.

Ryoji stopped her and pulled her back from the television. Panicked, Ryoji warned her,

"Don't push yourself! Remember that you just had a fight with Beelzebub. Besides, even if we go in, we can't guarantee that we'll find her that easily. We should rest up and prepare to go in tomorrow."

After hearing Ryoji's advice, she finally gave up. Walking towards her futon, she then bid Ryoji good night and went to sleep. Ryoji, meanwhile, stood outside her room to stand watch as usual for when unknown intruders would attack.

The next day was, however, a busy day for the inn. Customers flocked around the reception desk as both went to the lobby. Handling the customers was Kasai, whose face was full of worry while doing her job. Realizing that going out today was impossible for them. They walked towards Kasai and reported themselves for duty.

Kasai, who noticed them, let out a sigh of relief. Bowing her head in gratitude, the two went on to work, doing chores at the inn while catering to the customers' demands.

While they were working, they could hear loud footsteps approaching the reception desk. Putting off their jobs for a while, they walked to the reception desk and found Chie, her face full of worry like Kasai.

"What's the matter, Satonaka-san?"

"It's terrible. Yukiko has gone missing!"

Though the two of them had already known the truth, they feigned surprise. Seeing this as a chance to learn more, Ryoji continued to ask,

"Has anyone seen her outside?"

"No! But Narukami-kun and Yosuke are searching her as well. I have to go too, so see ya!"

As soon as she said that, she hurried off towards the exit. Minako and Ryoji wanted to follow after her, but they couldn't just leave Kasai alone.

"Let's just stay away from the TV world today. You just had your battle yesterday. It would be better if you rest yourself before exploring tomorrow."

Listening to Ryoji's advice, Minako reluctantly nodded her head and went back to work.

The day then turned to night. When they were done with their work, both of them returned to their rooms, tired after handling all the customers.

"I'm beat." Minako resigned herself to her futon in her room while still wearing her work clothes.

"But I'm sure this beats fighting demons and angels right?" Ryoji replied, trying to cheer her up as he handed her a cup of green tea.

"So in the end, we never managed to find out where Yukiko is, right?" Minako asked, drinking her tea and turning back towards Ryoji.

"No… Although my portal can transport anywhere we could go to, it can only transport us to places I went to. In that case, I can teleport us to the TV world, but we need to find her on our own."

"This is bad… If only Fuuka or Mitsuru were her they could sense where she is and pinpoint her location." Minako puffed, showing a sad face.

"It can't be helped, since we're on our own now. Well then, I guess we're going to have to follow Narukami-kun and the others if we're going to look for her and get her out of there."

"You're right. Maybe they already found a way to her location! Good idea, Ryoji." Minako smiled, which led Ryoji to smile as well.

"Good night then. We have a hard journey for us tomorrow, so sleep well."

"Okay."

Leaving Minako to her sleep, Ryoji created a portal and walked into the TV world. Thinking that by searching for the location by himself, they do not need to worry themselves the work needed to follow Yu and the others.

Aside from that, residing in Ryoji's mind was a feeling of jealousy. That feeling was grown during their first meeting with Yu, when Minako considered him as a lifeline for her return to normal life. However, for Ryoji, Yu is nothing more than just a method for getting Minako out of the seal. He had resolved himself that Minako's life was the more important than others.

"We can't be that close to that guy… In the end, she's going to realize that…"

As Ryoji walked around, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching. Forming a defensive stance and drawing out his sword, he waited for the shadow in the endless fog to come closer before dashing forward and preparing to slash it.

"W-Wait, don't hurt me!"

As the shadow yelled, Ryoji finally stopped. As he looked closer, he saw a costumed bear placing its hands on its head in fear of getting slashed. It was the bear that was together with Yu and Yosuke during the fight with Yosuke's Shadow.

"Y-You're…"

As Ryoji sheathed his sword, he took a closer look at the bear and found out a surprising truth about it.

"He's a Shadow… But wait, it's like he has a mind of its own…"

He had fought Shadows many times and was able to discern the aura between a human and a Shadow. Although the aura emitting from the bear is faint, it was definitely a Shadow. However, it was different from the other Shadows that they have fought. Not only could it speak, but it was able to show a variety of emotion, as well as not having the hostility to attack anyone.

Realizing that this bear could be trusted, Ryoji put his guard down and asked the bear politely with his usual carefree smile.

"Excuse me, but have you seen something pop out from nowhere in this world?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, there is. Sensei and the others went inside a long time ago and gone back…"

The bear then stopped talking, then turned around and stood there for a while before facing towards Ryoji with a glare and asked,

"Hey, aren't you the one who is throwing everybody in here?"

"Are you kidding me? Why would I throw anyone inside the TV? They'll die here." Ryoji replied, his smile slowly turning into a frown.

"That's precisely why you're the culprit! You have come here to see if your beary evil deeds have succeeded! Even though I can't fight, but I still have beary good detective skills!"

The further he listened to the bear, the more annoyed Ryoji had gotten. Slowly approaching the bear, he said with an angry tone,

"And why would I throw anyone inside the TV? Do you have any proof?""

"The fact that you're here makes it hard evidence!"

Pushed to the brink, Ryoji pushed the bear down, which startled it and rolled on the floor a few times before getting up.

"Feeling calm enough?" Ryoji asked with a stern look on his face.

"Why you…"

Before the bear could talk any further, it stopped and sniffed for a while before having a surprised look on his face and said,

"Hey, you're that guy who fought with Sensei during the time we fought with Yosuke's Shadow!"

"Your nose is sharp, I'll give you that." Ryoji replied, a bit surprised that his identity was discovered.

"If you're helping Sensei, then that means you're a good guy!" the bear said, smiling and raising his arms.

"You have a one track mind there…"

"I'll show you the way then, follow me!"

"All right then. By the way, let me introduce myself. I'm Ryoji Mochizuki." Ryoji said while the two of them walked through the fog which was enveloping the area.

"Teddie is my name. Nice to meet you, Ryoji!" Teddie said as he raised its hand joyfully.

After leading Ryoji to the castle where Yukiko is held, Ryoji looked at the place before remembering it in his mind so that he could teleport to the place with Minako tomorrow evening. It was an old style castle, with statues placed in two separate lines on the outside. However, the eerie atmosphere and the spiral sky made the place look like it was abandoned and haunted.

"So Yukiko is there?"

"Uh huh! Sensei and the others entered here just a while. By the way, we've got a new Persona user too!"

Thinking that the number of Persona users are increasing, Ryoji thought,

"Wow, it looks like the Wild Card user this time can create bonds with the others as well, just like Minako…"

"Well then, I'll be going then." Ryoji said as he created a portal back home. " Don't tell them about my secret , okay?"

"I will take it to my grave!" Teddie replied, saluting as he waved goodbye to Ryoji who went home.

"You better be…" Ryoji sighed as he entered the portal.


	16. Chapter 16: Rescue

The next day after Ryoji found the way to the castle where Yukiko was trapped, he quickly told Minako the information after they finished preparing for school.

"So, the bear told you where the castle was?"

"Yeah, but it knows who we are. There's a chance we have to kill it if it shares this information with Yu Narukami and the others."

Standing at the bus stop, they were waiting for the bus to arrive. Because Yukiko wasn't there and the two of them were the only ones at the bus stop, they were able to talk about the TV world freely without being noticed by anyone.

"Well then, we'll go after school is over right?" Ryoji asked, checking his surroundings to see if people are nearby.

"Of course. But, I need to go to the weapon shop we went the other day. I think the blacksmith there has finished my weapon. Preparation is essential, right?" MInako winked, forcing Ryoji to smile in response.

"You're right."

After that discussion, they spent the entire morning attending school. When the final bell rang, they quickly kept their belongings and dashed off to the store, not noticing Kou and Daisuke calling them from the entrance. Meanwhile, the trio of Yu, Yosuke and Chie were also walking towards the same direction as them, as they share the same goal: to rescue Yukiko from dying when the fog settles in.

Arriving at Daidara's workshop, they found Daidara, the blacksmith, standing at the counter polishing what appeared to be Minako's weapon. It had a pale glow and carefully carved engravings on it. Looking at the weapon made Minako happy as she rushed to the counter and asked with gleaming eyes,

"Is it done!?"

Daidara was a bit surprised by Minako's sudden arrival, but returned to his normal composure and said,

"Oh, young lady! It's done, alright. The finest product I have ever made! I have made it according to what you wanted, but it was a little hard getting everything that you wanted. Well, the material you gave me was a little special so everything worked out in the end."

He then handed Minako the weapon, which looked nothing like the naginata she wielded before, as the weapon itself was just a baton. Daidara pointed at the ends of the stick and said,

"Alright then, this turns into a staff when you swing it. Swing it again and the blade will come out. Pretty handy, huh?"

"Wow! This weapon is so powerful!" Minako eyes gleamed as she swung the staff in response to hearing Daidara's instructions. The stick then expanded into three times its size. She swung it again and made the blade hidden in the end of the staff which had a slit in the middle appear.

"So… How much is it…?" Ryoji asked with a frown on his face, knowing that the weapon which was custom made would be expensive. Not only that, they didn't have that much money to spend, since Minako's food expenses were constantly draining the money they had.

"Well…" Daidara stroked his chin before continuing, "I'll give you this weapon for free, if you can show me what you can do with it. Honestly, this is the first time I had such a work of art. I wanted to see an expert wield this. That is all I ask."

"Really?!" Both of them shouted, their eyes gleaming.

Nodding her head in agreement, Minako then took a deep breath, before making practice swings with the naginata. After she was done getting used to the weapon, she started moving around, exhibiting perfect mastery of the weapon while swinging it.

"Wow…" Daidara's mouth widened when seeing Minako perform her naginata techniques. For him, he had never seen someone perform with such grace and technique.

After Minako was done, Daidara gave her a thumbs up and commented,

"That was some fine technique, young lady. Looks like this art won't be wasted. Use it wisely, young lady."

"Sure. Thanks again!" Minako smiled, leaving the store with Ryoji afterwards.

The duo then walked to the back alley and changed into their battle uniforms, where Ryoji created the portal for them to go inside the TV world. Inside the TV world, their surroundings were still covered in fog, making them harder to see. However, they suddenly saw shadowy figures walking from afar. Upon closer inspection, they found out that the shadows were actually human figures.

"It's them. Let's follow them." Ryoji signaled Minako as they moved closer without being seen.

However, Teddie had already sensed someone moving closer towards them. Since it had known Ryoji's scent from before, it had already deduced that Minako and Ryoji were nearby. It wanted to tell the Investigation Team about the duo being in the TV world, but doing that would jeopardize its life, since Ryoji had already warned against it about divulging their identities.

"Huh, what's wrong, Teddie?" Yosuke asked, puzzled at why Teddie stopped walking.

"I-It's nothing!" Teddie tried to play it safe, but suddenly stumbled and fell down hard. The trio looked at it and were very suspicious of its movements, but decided to play it off. After getting back up, Teddie continued leading the way to the castle.

"Good. Looks like it still remembers about the promise." Ryoji muttered, while Minako just focused on following them.

By the time they arrived, the Investigation Team had already gone inside. Minako and Ryoji decided to wait outside first as hey didn't want to meet up with them that quickly. Though they share the common goal of saving Yukiko, keeping their identities a secret was more important.

" Listen, Minako." Ryoji suddenly grabbed Minako's shoulders, surprising her.

"What is it?"

"Whatever you do, please don't use the amulet unless it's an emergency. Got it?"

"...Alright then." Minako then nodded her head in reply, which made Ryoji breathe a sigh of relief.

"Let's go, they should be further inside right about now."

Going inside, they walked around the floor, taking their sweet time while defeating shadows and gaining money. Since the fight with Shadow Yosuke, Minako had been exhibiting a change during the battle, which was observed by Ryoji. Her speed had noticeably grown faster. She was able to dodge the Shadows' attacks easily while killing them one by one.

"Could this be the effect of the pendant?" Ryoji, who was standing afar while letting Minako take care of the Shadows thought.

Realizing that they have delayed enough time, they hurriedly went upstairs. While climbing up the stairs, they could hear Yukiko's voice echoing the floors.

"Your rooms are right this way. Please let me know if you need anything."

They were surprised that they were hearing Yukiko's voice. However, they didn't ponder about it for much longer and continued running. Stopping for a while when they arrived at a new floor, they found the floor they were in to be a little different than the other floors.

"I sense a weird presence in this floor." Ryoji warned, looking at their surroundings for anything strange.

"Are you sure?" Minako asked while walking forward, ignoring Ryoji's warning. Suddenly, a white flash shone and Minako disappeared in front of Ryoji's eyes.

"Minako!? Where are you?!" Ryoji yelled in panic, hoping that Minako was still in the same floor.

"I'm right here!" Minako yelled back in response, which prompted Ryoji to sigh in relief.

Realizing that walking forward will teleport him to the place where Minako is, he didn't hesitate and stepped forward, finding himself engulfed in a white flash and ending up appearing in front of Minako.

"Looks like we should be careful. There are many places in this floor which can teleport us randomly like just now."

They walked around the floor while checking out the doors to find the stairway. After a while, they finally found the staircase. Ryoji examined that the door needed the key, but since the Investigation Team had already used the key to open it, they saved a lot of time without needing to find the key.

Escaping the floor, they found themselves running in their normal pace. As they progressed through the floors, they could hear Yukiko's voice echoing again.

"Yukiko, snow… I hate that name…"

"Why do I have to carry on as the manager? I wish that I could run away and live a normal life…"

"Why is she saying stuff like that?" Minako asked while showing a frown on her face, beginning to realize that Yukiko had a deep hatred for being born as an inn manager's daughter.

"What we're hearing is her true thoughts, I think. This place is created from her thoughts, right? That means she was waiting for someone to help her run away from her current life."

"Then the things her Shadow said and done was based on her true feelings."

"This also happened with Yosuke's Shadow, as well."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's pick up the pace."

After defeating every Shadow they met and climbed the floors, they ended up arriving at the top floor of the castle. It was at that time when they opened the door that they saw the Investigation Team fighting against what appeared to be giant red colored bird with a heart-shaped chest staying in a cage. Beside the bird was a horribly looking creature dressed like a prince fighting for the bird.

On the other side, the Investigation Team looked like they were tired from fighting the bird like creature. Sensing that the bird was Yukiko's Shadow, the duo quickly stepped up and ran into the Shadow while clenching their weapons tightly. Seeing that both sides haven't seen them yet, Minako swung her naginata towards Yukiko's Shadow. The Shadow couldn't react to Minako's speed and flinched, taking a lot of damage from the attack.

Backing down and standing in front of the Investigation Team, Minako made a heroic pose like the time during the battle with Shadow Yosuke and yelled,

"From the shadow, I deliver justice! Feather Pink!"

Having no choice but to follow her example, Ryoji also did the same pose, but muttered with an annoyed tone.

"Evil Minion, on the scene…"

The three of them were surprised by the duo's appearance. Chie, the one who looked the most surprised, grabbed Yosuke by the collar and asked while repeatedly yanking,

"Who are those guys, and why are they dressing up like the guys from Neo Featherman?!"

"Stop yanking my neck! Anyways, I don't know. Only Narukami knows their identity!" Yosuke puffed, after being let go by Chie.

"I don't know who they are." Yu replied with a straight look on his face, not surprised about the appearance of Minako and Ryoji.

"No matter, they're our allies! Now go beat that Shadow and save Yuki-chan!" Teddie yelled from the sides, hiding behind one of the pillars.

"You heard Teddie. Let's go!"

The Investigation then began their attack. The three of them unleashed their magic against Shadow Yukiko. However, it didn't seem to faze as it flapped its wings and released waves of flames towards the members. Feeling the brunt of their attacks, they had no choice but to step down.

"They're still weak. It's up to us to defeat that Shadow." Ryoji said to Minako, running ahead of her and swung his blade at Shadow Yukiko. However, the attack was blocked by the prince-like Shadow that was right beside it.

"Looks like we have to defeat the prince first!" Minako then tried to follow up with an attack on the prince, but Shadow Yukiko released flames from its wings, hitting Minako before she had the chance to attack.

"This is harder than the time we fought Yosuke's Shadow…" Ryoji muttered as he tried to observe the enemy's attack patterns and weaknesses.

"Hmph, looks like my princes aren't very strong at all. Is that all you got? How are you going to save me with such a weak attack?"

Shadow Yukiko roared as it swung its cage towards Minako and the others. Suffering major damage, it looked like they were about to fall at the hands of Yukiko's Shadow. Chie looked on in despair as she yelled angrily,

"Isn't there something we can do to defeat it!?"

"Should we retreat and recover before fighting again?" Yosuke said to Yu, who was just standing there.

"Maybe…" Yu pondered for a while. As the leader of the team, he had to choose wisely. Though retreating was the better choice, they were already close to rescuing Yukiko. Retreating would lead to time wasted in traversing the dungeon.

Minako saw Yu's indecisiveness and turned to Ryoji with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry, Ryoji."

"Wait, Mina-"

It was too late as Minako touched the bracelet and prayed. Thinking that the power of ice was useful against Shadow Yukiko, she gathered up the resolve and thought about one of her seniors who she had admired.

"I hope that you will have a fulfilling school life here."

"I'm lost in thought. Is continuing this farce the best for the good of the Kirijo Group?"

"Thank you, you have made me realize what I need to do to ensure the Kirijo Group's future."

"No, I won't let you die!"

With the memories of her appearing in Minako's mind one by one, she began to feel an extraordinary power welling up inside of her. After she concentrated hard, she imagined her senior in battle, using her Persona to fight everything that stood in her way.

"Help me, Mitsuru!"

The sound of cracking could then be heard. A velvet blue enveloped Minako's body once again, as she held up the Evoker and chanted,

"Persona!"

Pulling the trigger, a loud bang was heard. What appeared behind Minako was a being that exemplified pure elegance. With sophisticated clothing and a whip on its hand, it blew a kiss towards the prince-like Shadow. When the kiss landed, the prince turned tail and ran towards Minako, as if it had swore allegiance towards her.

"Artemisia, Mabufudyne!"

Now that there was no one blocking her attacks, she casted one of the strongest ice spells. A field of ice slowly appeared below the cage where Shadow Yukiko was inside. As Artemisia cracked her whip, the cage was instantly turned into a block of ice.

With the Shadow frozen, Minako quickly ran towards the ice and took a deep breath before swinging her naginata at the Shadow. After suffering enough damage, the Shadow then fell out of its cage, dissolving until it turned back to its human form.

Finally winning the battle, Minako tried to rush to Yukiko's aid, but was stopped by Ryoji as he grabbed her hand.

"Let them handle this. Let's go."

"But-"

"We can't reveal our identity just yet. It's still too early."

"…Alright then."

Nodding her head in agreement, the duo then retreated. Yu saw them run away and wanted to chase after them, but he thought that saving Yukiko was far more important.

Running back towards the entrance, Minako then finally collapsed from exhaustion after using Mitsuru's Persona. As she was about to fall, Ryoji caught hold of her and sighed,

"Why did you use that again? Don't you care for your precious friends?" Ryoji muttered sadly, his face frowning as he carried Minako back to the hotel.

After he carried her back to her futon, Ryoji walked back to the entrance, where the staff welcomed Yukiko back. She looked normal, but in actually she was very exhausted from staying in the TV world for so long. Chie was beside her with a worried look on her face.

"I'm back, everyone. I'm sorry for going missing like that."

Yukiko tried to apologize and bowed her head, but was stopped by Kasai as she told her to raise her head before saying,

"Welcome back, mistress. All of us are merely grateful that you came back safely. That is what we, the staff, could ask for."

"Thank you." Yukiko thanked them, her eyes about to shed tears.

Feeling that staying here would serve no purpose, Ryoji merely turned around and walked back to their room.

Meanwhile, Minako woke up only to find herself in her old room once again. This time, instead of Koromaru, Mitsuru was sitting beside her, smiling. Finally seeing her old friend again, she couldn't help herself and quickly hugged her, which Mitsuru accepted wholeheartedly.

"I thought I couldn't see you again." Minako cried, while Mitsuru patted her back to console her.

"Minako, you do realize I'm a fragment of your memories, right?"

"But, I'm just happy to see you face-to-face…"

"I see…" Mitsuru then frowned and waiting for Minako to sort out her feelings before continuing, "You have a long journey ahead of you, but remember that everyone in SEES will always be in your heart. So, strengthen your resolve and finish your duty."

"I understand." Minako slowly stood up and asked, "I'm about to sacrifice another person's life just to meet you guys again. Am I really doing the right thing?"

"Only you can determine whether it is right or wrong. Either way, you will find what you are looking for in the end."

Hearing Mitsuru's answer she began to smiled and said one last greeting before heading towards the door.

"Goodbye, Mitsuru. I hope I can see you again, even if I don't remember you anymore…"

* * *

><p><em>UPDATE: Changes afoot after realizing that there were many grammatical errors. Thanks to GoldenScarlet for telling me about this. Reviews are pretty important for correcting my wrongs, right?<em>


	17. Chapter 17: Sport Clubs

"Joining a sports club?"

That was what Kou and Daisuke, the two boys in Minako and Ryoji's class asked them the day after they saved Yukiko.

"Yeah, we wanted to tell you about it but you guys ran home like runners from the Olympics." Daisuke chuckled from his joke as the others didn't get a laugh from it.

"I didn't think about it yet. We were so busy at that time that we don't have any plans to join any."

"You serious? Come on! Joining a sports club is great! You'll get to meet new friends there!"

Upon Kou's persuasion, Minako was lost in thought. Joining a sports club would make her life feel normal again. However, with the time for her to remain in this world grows shorter, she was hesitant to be involved in any other activities that would delay her journey.

"We shouldn't. Joining a sports club seems pretty pointless to me. We should use this time to explore the TV world better."

Ryoji was against joining a sports club. Thinking that saving Minako is his priority, he promised himself that he wouldn't get over himself while protecting her at all costs.

"Aww, don't be a killjoy! At least the transfer student from the next class seems gungho about it!"

Hearing the mention of Yu began to sway Minako's thought of not joining any sports club. By joining the same club as Yu, she might be able to win over him and even convince him to save the world. Ryoji looked at Minako's sparkling eyes and assumed that her mind was made up.

"Let's go and see if there are any clubs that are worth joining then!"

Pulling Ryoji's hand, Minako hurriedly dashed outside. The two guys who were standing next to them a while ago were surprised that a girl could run this fast.

"Think she could be in the Olympics?"

"Definitely."

As they walked outside the school, they could get a glimpse of the sports clubs practicing. Because it was a small school, there were not many sports clubs. The only clubs they only saw were the track and field club, soccer club and a sport that Minako used to play while in Gekkoukan High, the tennis club.

Fixated at the sight of the tennis club practicing, Minako decided to take a look, with Ryoji being pulled along.

As they arrived at the courts, they could see two players playing. One of the tennis players had a ponytail and sported a white dress while the other one had short but unkempt hair while wearing a yellow blouse and white skirt. Both of them looked like they were evenly matched, but the one with the ponytail looked like she was exhausted.

"The girl with the yellow blouse will win this match."

As Minako said that while analyzing their movements, the girl with the unkempt hair returned the ball with both of her hands, swinging with all her might. The ponytailed girl wanted to chase the ball, but her legs finally gave in as she fell down on her knees in exhaustion.

"Game set! Winner, Kaoru Misono!"

As the umpire announced the winner, the girl, Kaoru went to her opponent and offered a hand to the tired girl.

"Can you stand?"

With a cool and calm attitude, she helped her opponent to stand. With cheers from the bystanders, they walked to a place where they could rest.

"That was a good match."

"You played tennis right? Want to give it a try, Minako?"

With Ryoji's suggestion, Minako nodded in agreement and ran to Kaoru's side. Her eyes shining, she was eager to play another round of tennis after not playing for more than a year.

"Excuse me!"

Hearing Minako scream from afar, Kaoru focus her attention on the approaching Minako and asked,

"Yes? Do you have any business here?"

"I just transferred here and was looking for a club to join when I saw you play. Can you play a match with me?"

Surprised at the transfer student's favor, she glanced at the other players who were staring at them with surprised look on their faces and asked,

"Why me? Surely there are others who can play with you. Why don't I call one over here…"

"I only want you as my opponent!"

Taking no for an answer, Minako tried to persuade Kaoru into playing a match against her. Kaoru tried to decline, but looking at the glint of her eyes, she couldn't bear herself to decline.

"Alright then. Only one set, alright?"

"Okay then!"

With a happy look on her face, she approached the girl with the ponytail and asked,

"May I borrow your racquet?"

"Sure though… But are you sure you want to play against her, she's the club president and the strongest one in this school. You'll have no chance in defeating her!"

"Don't' worry. I know my way around a racquet."

Minako who was handed the racquet then walked to the opposite site of the court. Feeling the grip on her racquet, she reminisced the time she was in the tennis club and made a few practice swings. Kaoru was surprised at the swings, as they were very fast and quick.

"This girl… I shouldn't let my guard down."

With the umpire signaling the beginning of the match, it was Kaoru's turn to serve the ball. Thinking that her opponent might just be a beginner, she said,

"I'll begin with a weak serve, are you okay with that?"

"Don't worry! Make your most powerful serve!"

"Is this girl serious…?"

Not heeding Minako's advice, she began with a weak serve, as expected. However, when the ball landed onto Minako's side, she took a deep breath, judged the position of the ball, and made a quick and powerful swing. The ball went flying past through Kaoru but unfortunately went outside the line.

"15-0!"

Everyone was surprised at how powerful the swing is, even the umpire. Minako, however, made an apologetic face and muttered,

"Looks like I need to control my ball more…"

Kaoru's eyes widened as she thought back of that swing. Realizing that her opponent did not look like someone who was a greenhorn, she tried to snap herself out of her surprise.

"Is this girl for real!? Looks like I really can't hold back…"

Noticing that Kaoru's eyes have changed to a more serious look, Minako realized that her opponent had decided not to hold back. Nodding her head in agreement to her opponent's reaction, she readied herself as Kaoru began her second serve.

"Let's see how you handle this!"

Finally putting her full power on her serve, she swung the ball which flew over to Minako's side with speed as quick as Minako's. However, Minako merely smiled as she returned the ball without much thought.

The match then progressed to an all-out battle between the two players. Every serve would end up with long rallies from both of them. Interestingly, Minako was not very tired unlike her opponent. That was because she was used to combat and did not waste her stamina on unnecessary movements.

"This girl is good. I wonder why I didn't see her in any competitions…"

On the courtside, Ryoji was looking on with a serious look on his eyes. Analyzing Minako's game, he muttered,

"She's using the amulet to borrow Koromaru's speed. However, it actually looks like she just copied Koromaru's movements. By not wasting stamina, she's able to withstand long battles."

"What should I do…"

Meanwhile, in front of the school gates was Yu who was happening to find a sports club to join. Realizing that joining a sports club may increase his own Wild Card power, he decided to join one. While heading towards the soccer field, he saw a huge crowd gathering outside the tennis court. Curious at what was happening, he decided to take a closer look. With his higher stature, he was able to see the match amidst the huge crowd. What he saw was two players playing tennis. However, he was very familiar with the girl wearing the school's uniform. Even though her clothing made her stand out like a sore thumb, her skills against the strongest tennis player in school were what made the crowd gather.

"She's really popular…"

Realizing that, he smiled at the thought that someone like him, a transfer student, was able to be popular in school in just a short time.

"Alright then, how should I end this match…"

Time progressed and soon the score was 5-4 in Minako's favor. It was match point and she wanted to make an impact on her final play. Suddenly, she could feel the rallies that happened in the match playing back inside her mind.

"What's happening?"

As she looked back at her thoughts, she found out that something was similar in Kaoru's plays. She would always go in for the kill, even though she was at a disadvantage. After finding out her playstyle, Minako finally knew what to do. Serving her ball as normal, Kaoru, like Minako predicted, returned with a strong smash towards the right side, which was far away from Minako. The smash had a tight curve and bounced inside the line before swerving to the right.

"That was perfect! Maybe I can delay this match…"

"Just as I expected!"

As Kaoru looked towards Minako, she was already running at full speed. In the right time, she countered with a smash like Kaoru just did. The ball swerved to the left as Kaoru tried to return the serve.

However, she was a bit too late as the ball hit the tip of her racquet and flew upwards before dropping to the ground. Once the ball hit the ground, the umpire who was dazed went speechless for a moment before she yelled,

" Game set! The winner is the transfer student!"

As the match was decided, the crowd gathering the court suddenly burst into excitement. Everyone starting murmuring about the appearance of the new student that beat the strongest tennis player in the school.

Upon shouts and cheers of excitement, Minako enjoyed the noise that the crowd was making. As she looked at the crowd, she noticed that Yu was looking at her, smiling as he was congratulating her. A glance at him brought a hint of redness in her face. It was the first since her awakening that she felt like this.

As she tried to contain her feelings, Kaoru, who looked like she admitted her defeat, walked towards Minako to offer a handshake to her as a sign of congratulating her. After she had relaxed a bit, Minako accepted the handshake.

"You were great back there. The club needs a player like you. Will you join the tennis club?"

Kaoru thought that this was the chance of a lifetime. By recruiting Minako to the club, maybe the tennis club can reach to even greater height. They might be able to win the regionals, even the nationals if they were lucky.

"Sorry, but no thanks. I'm just happy to able to play one final match."

Kaoru was surprised by this. She was a good tennis player, but why wouldn't she join the club, she thought.

"But-"

"I'm really sorry, but I have no intention of joining the tennis club."

With Minako's declaration, the crowd grew silent. Nobody could fathom what Minako was thinking, except for her and Ryoji. When the talk was over, Minako quickly left the scene, with Ryoji following suit.

"I wanted to join, but I can't…"

Ryoji, who had a glimpse of Minako's depressed face as they ran away, had nothing to say of her decision. She had made up her mind and that was it, he thought solemnly.

Once the crowd dispersed, Yu, who had initially forgot what he was doing in the first place, finally remember that he needed to join a club as well and continued looking around the premises for a new club that would suit his tastes.

Minako and Ryoji who stopped running after a while found themselves in the indoor stadium of the school. As she looked around her surroundings, she could see basketball players practicing their dribbling skills. Upon a closer look, she could see Kou among the players that were practicing.

Kou who happened to notice the duo stopped practicing and ran over to them.

"Hey guys! Fancy joining the basketball club?"

"No, we're just here to take a look…"

Minako scratched her head as she noticed that Yu appeared from the other door of the stadium. With a surprised look on her face, she pointed her finger towards him and said,

"Isn't that the transfer student from the class next to ours?"

"Huh, you're right. I'll ask him, so please wait a moment okay?"

With a quick answer, Kou ran towards Yu and asked him the same question. With a straight look on his face, Yu nodded. When the answer was given, Kou quickly jumped for joy. Minako who realized what that meant turned towards Ryoji and said,

"Looks like we're joining the basketball club."

At that day, the basketball had two new players and a new manager.


End file.
